Swordplay
by bijoukaiba
Summary: The twenty-five greatest warriors have been drawn together to prove their fighting abilities at the Battle Royale Suites, but a dark mystery is hidden here. Rivalries and friendships form, and love blossoms for some. LinkxMarth, FalconxSamus, and more.
1. This Strange New World We're In

Swordplay

bijoukaiba: **BWAH!!** After playing a lot more SSBM, I'm finally going to write my premiere SSBM fanfiction, **Swordplay**. You can already tell which character(s) this will revolve around, can't you? However, a few more of my favorite fighters will have their own "cameo" appearances, lol.

Some characters might be OOC, forgive me, because I've never owned any video game created before/at the same time as the N64. Dumb parents...

There will also be some stupid author commentary as the story progresses, lmao.

_**Disclaimer:**_

**Ness: **What's my line again? Oh, right. Don't own, don't sue! OKAY!!!

**Chapter 1: This Strange New World We're In**

Mario hummed as he approached the doorway to Princess Peach's castle. He had a bouquet of flowers in his hand and smiled as he knocked upon the door. Gee, I _never_ saw that coming, did you?

"Oh Peach! It's-a me, Mario! May I-a come in?"

There was no reply. Thinking he was in error, Mario knocked again. "Peach? Are-a you in?"

Still, there was silence. Worriedly, Mario put an ear to the door to listen for her. "Peach?"

A scream caught his attention, causing him to drop his flowers.

"PEACH!!!!!!" He shot a fireball through the door (figuring Toad might be able to fix it later anyway) and dashed up the steps to the princess's quarters.

Sure enough, the pretty-in-pink princess was backed up against the wall as a giant turtle with a spiked shell stalked closer to her.

"Mario!!!" She gasped in relief.

The spiked turtle turned around, facing the arch nemesis he had faced for several years. "Mario?! Great, not _you_ again. It doesn't matter. This time, I have a plan that will give me the throne to the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"Bowser! Let-a Peach go!! She will never give-a you the power you desire!" Mario said, charging up a fireball in his hand. Bowser cracked his knuckles, eager for a fight.

Frightened, Peach grabbed the frying pan left behind from her breakfast-in-bed that morning and socked Bowser in the noggin with it.

"Don't you dare hurt Mario!!!" she cried. Bowser fell with a thump to the floor.

"I don't-a think he heard you. Damn, woman, what a shot!" Mario gasped. Bowser rubbed gingerly at his head, standing up again. His eyes were blood-red in fury.

"Why you little..." He muttered. "I oughta-" Before he could finish his statement, a bright light engulfed their bodies, along with a painful, tingling sensation. Mario grabbed onto Peach's hand before he blacked out.

Outside, a shadow passed over the dropped bouquet of flowers for foreshadowing effects from the author.

**-------------**

On vacation, Yoshi had finally gotten to go golfing with his close friend Birdo. It was the last hole, and he needed to sink the shot for an eagle to win it. He gripped the handle of club nervously, and shuffled his feet around until he was certain he had the perfect trajectory. Even Birdo was nervous, she realized this shot would win it. Yoshi raised his club into the air for the shot, when a wave of light engulfed him and he vanished. The club fell to the ground without its golfer.

"_Birdo?" _(Does this mean I win?) She asked, confused.

((**A/N: See those parenthesis? Those will act like subtitles for characters that don't necessarily speak English. Haha! Look at me! I sound like those annoying characters in video games that explain how to do everything! Review, review! You saw nothing.**))

**-------------**

Satoshi (that's Ash, for those that don't know. Damn dubbers...) glared angrily up at the Meowth-shaped balloon in the sky. "Damnit!!! Gimme back my Pikachu!"

Team Rocket laughed, Kojiro (James. Stupid 4Kids...) holding the adorable electric mouse in his arms. "I don't think so, boy."

Musashi (Jessie) smirked. "Judgement day has come, twerp, and Team Rocket has finally won!"

A white wave of light flashed over Pikachu and he disappeared from Kojiro's arms. Satoshi blinked stupidly at them and Takeshi and Kasumi, (Brock and Misty, respectively) who had been busy making out, walked over in shock (yep, big Gymshippy fan!).

Kojiro looked down at 'the twerps'. "Hey!" he called. "Do you know what the hell just happened?"

**------------**

Paula and Jeff were walking to the bus stop, discussing things of important matter.

"Hey, Paula..."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what they're serving for lunch today?"

"I don't know. But there's something that's been bothering me..." Paula murmured her voice trailing off. "Jeff, where DO babies come from?"

"Ness!!" Jeff called shouting to his friend.

"Ness makes BABIES?!" Paula screamed in shock. Whn she noticed her psychic friend, she ran up to him. "Hi, Ness! How are you?"

"Okay... you?"

"Great! Today we do our science project! With a report on ESP and you as our partner, there's no way we can fail!" Jeff cheered.

Suddenly, a wave of white light (**A/n: **Hmm... this is getting repetitive...) flashed over them, scaring Jeff and Paula.

"Augh, my glasses!" Jeff cried as they were knocked from his face.

"Ness!!" Paula shouted. When the radiance had vanished, only the two of them were standing there as the bus pulled up.

"We're screwed." Jeff declared sadly.

**------------**

Space. It is a virtually empty void of darkness. The occasional planetary system, shimmering stars, space ships, and floating monkey heads. This is the Lylat system.

"Fox!" Peppy called through his communicator. "Pull back, Fox, it's too dangerous!"

"I can't!" Fox replied, slamming the steering handle backward as far as he could. "Andross is sucking me in!"

Slippy flew in overhead and blasted at the gems on the hands of their nemesis.

"Shoot me all you want!" Andross laughed. "As long as I bring McCloud to hell, I can finally be in peace."

A glimmering beam of light flashed before their eyes.

"What the-?" Slippy asked.

"Fox, Fox, come in!" Peppy shouted into the communicator as Andross sucked in the Arwing. Static was his reply. "Fox, do you read me? Fox! FOX!!!!!"

**-------------------**

Amidst the snowy air, two adorable eskimos made their way to the top of the mountain. One was clad in a blue parka, the other one wore a pink parka.

"Nana!" cheered the one in the blue parka. "We did it! We'll be in the record books! We're the youngest people to ever scale this mountain! How do you feel?"

The pink-clad eskimo smiled back, holding up a little box. "It feels great! I brought some stuffed eggplant with me for lunch! Do you wanna have a picnic to celebrate, Popo?"

Popo grinned and clutched his stomach. "You betcha! I'm starved!!"

As Nana pulled out a plastic plate from the box, she froze. A tingling sensation rushed through her body and she blacked out, her best friend beside her.

**----------------**

When Mario awakened, he had his hand still wrapped around Peach's.

"What just-a happened?" Mario murmured, putting a hand to his head, then noticing Peach laying beside him. He gently shook the princess beside him awake, then helped her sit up.

"Mario..." she whispered. "How did we... get here?"

They appeared to be in a solid gray room, which echoed whenever they spoke. Nothing adorned the walls and there wasn't much light.

"I don't-a know... but I don't-a think we're alone." The plumber pointed over at several others who were starting to stir.

Among them were a giant ape, someone fully dressed in armor, a pink puffball, and several others.

"Argh..." grumbled a man who was dressed in a body suit and wore a helmet. "Hey!! I was just about to win that race!!!"

"Race?" Asked a younger boy dressed in a red and black striped shirt, denim shorts, and a baseball cap. "You're a racecar driver?! Cool!!"

"Thanks, kid. The name's Captain Falcon. Famous racer, famous bounty hunter. All-around champion!!"

"I'm Ness!" the boy chirped. "And I have the powers of ESP!!! Hey, you guys!!" Ness called, beckoning the others over. "Tell us stuff about you too!!"

They sat in a circle, and shared a piece of information with each other.

"I'm Samus Aran," said the armored figure, removing their helmet. "And like Captain Falcon, I am a bounty hunter. Or perhaps I should say hunt_ress._"

Captain Falcon watched as ravishing golden blonde hair flowed to her shoulders and her shining blue eyes cast several glances around the room. _I don't think I've ever seen a woman more beautiful than her..._

"I'm Popo, and this is my best friend Nana! We like to climb icy mountains for fun!! You can also call us the Ice Climbers!"

They clapped their hands together in a hi-five.

"Pi Pikachu. Pikachu Pika Pi Pika Pikachu Pika." (I'm Pikachu. I'm a creature known as a Poke'mon.)

"It's-a crazy, but somehow I understood-a all of that. Oh, I'm-a Mario, and I'm-a plumber that-a rescues princesses!"

"Rescues?" Zelda smiled. "I'm Princess Zelda, from the kingdom of Hyrule."

The exchange of introductions (even Bowser was willing enough to tell a bit about himself, OMG) continued until Kirby (the pink puffball) pointed out a door they had failed to notice.

"Look guys! There's a door!!"

"Huh," Fox commented, "I guess we were so worried about ourselves we failed to notice it."

"Well, let's open it!" Bowser growled, annoyed. "We couldn't be any worse off than we are now!"

There were some murmurs of agreement and some of disagreement, but when a vote was taken, the urge to explore overuled. Donkey Kong(the gargantuan ape), Bowser, and Yoshi swung the door open...

When the whole room around them dissolved completely, and they were standing amidst a green field with small hills that sloped neatly. Not too far away was a sandy coastline that bordered the turquoise ocean, which seemed to stretch on endlessly.

"Wow!! You can see a beach from here!! Ooh, look at the water! I wanna swim now!!!" Kirby laughed.

"There's a building," Mario pointed out. "Let's-a go inside and-a see if-a we can figure out where-a we are."

**--------------**

Entering the building, they were greeted by a young lady with pink hair and a white dress. Behind her was a rack of keys arranged in five rows of five keys.

"Hiya! What's up?" she asked cheerfully.

"Hey," Link greeted. "We wanted know where we are."

"Oh! You're our guests! This is the Battle Royale Suites, reserved for _only_ the best warriors in the world!" she said. "Shall I assign you your rooms?"

"Rooms?!" Bowser roared. "We want to get the hell out of here!! NOW!!!!" He slammed a fist upon the stone desk, a crack running halfway through it.

"I'm... sorry, sir. But I don't know how you got here. Even I was pulled into this against my will. I arrived here a few days before you did."

"Who did-a this to us?" Mario asked.

The pink-haired girl shook her head. "I don't know... I've never seen his true identity."

"Can you tell us why we're here?" Nana asked.

"To fight," the secretary replied. "that's why these are the _Battle_ Royale Suites. We've set up arenas similar to your homes for combat. With special conditions, you cannot be hurt in standard matches, but you will be able to fight and subconsciously accumulate damage, until after enough damage is taken... and a strong enough attack... and WHAM!!!! KO points!!!"

She giggled at the surprised faces of the newcomers.

"It's just a way to have fun and for the boss to observe your skills. It's almost like a study in combat methods. Now then, do you want your rooms?"

They all shrugged at each other and replied as a group, "Yes."

"My name's Joy, by the way," she blurted out. "Now, tell me your name and draw a number from this box for your room."

At the mentioning of a familiar name, Pikachu leapt up onto the desk.

"Pikachu!" (It's you!) he squealed.

"Pikachu! Wow! Okay, pick a number." she said, hugging him and showing him the box. He stuck his adorable little paw in and pulled out a slip of paper.

"Number 22. Okay."

"Pikachu!" (Got it!) the electric mouse chirped, before leaping onto Zelda's shoulder.

"Hmmm... greenie, you're next!"

"My name is Link." The elf muttered, reaching into the box.

"Eleven. Thanks... Link." Joy giggled as Link rolled his eyes and stepped away.

Everyone finally drew the rest of their numbers. Mario got Room 1 (go figure), Peach got Room 4, Ness got Room 5, Yoshi got Room 8, Nana and Popo shared Room 9 (they were reassured by Joy that she would move a bunkbed into the room. No sharing! Lol), Fox got Room 10, Captain Falcon got Room 14, Bowser got Room 16, Kirby got Room 18, Zelda got Room 19, Donkey Kong earned Room 21, and Samus got Room 23.

Joy blinked twice in surprise, realizing she had just filled up 14 rooms.

"Wow, um... I guess I'll just show you to your rooms." She picked up the keys and led them to their respective rooms.

"Just like each rack of keys, there are five floors. And there are five rooms per floor."

"No duh," Bowser snickered. Even Popo and Ness were forced to giggle.

Ignoring them, Joy continued. "Here's the first floor, where..." She paused to glance at the paper she had recorded the names on. "Where Mario, Peach, and Ness will be boarding."

"Okey-dokey!" Mario confirmed.

"Fine with me!" Peach agreed.

"Okay!" Ness added with a nod.

Joy beckoned to the rest, then led them to the elevator. It took about three trips (considering DK and Bowser were so heavy) to get everyone to the second floor.

"Okay... now Yoshi, Popo, Nana, and Fox will be staying here."

"Question," Zelda commented, raising her hand, "What will we do about clothes to change into?"

Joy smiled and replied, "We've already taken that into consideration and stocked a lovely wardrobe for each one of you, based on your preferred styles."

Popo leapt out of his room, with a green parka in his hands. "It's true! See?"

Fox held up a red-orange jacket for them to see as well.

"There's a note in your rooms to come to the main desk in fifteen minutes dressed in new clothes, and we'll continue meeting some of the staff and seeing additional rooms." Joy finished. "Let's continue, shall we?"

Giving a friendly wave, she led the remaining eight fighters up some stairs.

"Pikachu? Pikachu Pika Pikachu!" (More stairs? This is one heck of a workout!) Pikachu mumbled, as they made their way to the third floor.

"Here's where Link and Captain Falcon will be staying."

"Only two of us?" Captain Falcon asked, taking the key labelled #14. "It's gonna be a little lonelier then, huh?"

"Oh, don't worry!" Joy laughed. "These rooms will get filled up pretty fast!"

Link and Captain Falcon looked at her oddly. Joy seemed to freeze at her own words.

"What I mean is, we sometimes get travellers that stay in these extra rooms... usually isn't very long, though... heheh..."

Link eyed her suspiciously, before unlocking Room 11.

**-----------**

At the fourth floor, Joy called off the names of Bowser, Kirby, and Zelda, gave them their keys, and departed, without any major details.

And finally, at last, after MILES of hiking... (just kidding) DK, Pikachu, and Samus reached the top floor.

"You guys are the lucky ones," Joy said with a cute smile.

"Why's that?" Donkey Kong asked. ((I don't care if he's a giant monkey... in my story, he speaks!!))

Joy led them to the opposite end of the hallway, where a glass screen door was. She opened the door and led the Pokemon, ape, and bounty hunter outside into the sunshine. It was a balcony that had an excellent view point, with direct access to the sky. Four sunchairs with blue and white stripes, four walnut side-tables, and several potted plants (including a beautiful stargazer lily).

"Pika pika!!" (Amazing!)

"Radiant," Samus said with a smile.

"And check out the view!" Donkey Kong added. "You can see the entire property up here!"

"This is the best balcony in the building. You can always find a cool breeze, a bright sky, or a beautiful moon out here!" Joy commented, leaning on the metal railings that surrounded the balcony.

She winked at the trio mischeviously. "Did I mention this can be a VERY romantic location?"

Pikachu, Samus, and DK looked at her, faces flushed, before Joy giggled. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. Why don't you guys change your clothes and come downstairs in fifteen minutes? I'll continue the tour then."

**--------------------**

And so, to avoid time-consuming elaboration, everyone had returned downstairs in a new pair of clothes.

"I got a blue tie!" Donkey Kong said, holding it up on his neck for everyone to see.

"Lovely," Zelda complimented, wearing a dress which was blue as well.

Joy smiled at them. "Well, I think you all look very nice! Let's continue, shall we?" She led them to the hallway opposite the dorm rooms on the first floor. On the left was a glass window, showing off a swimming pool, and on the right was another room with a set of dumbells, some gymnastic equipment, a large trampoline, and some treadmills.

"Here's our recreation room. Use it for training or when you feel like a game of Marco Polo. All of you are entitled to use this room whenever you please. It's open 24/7, but remember that there isn't a life guard on duty. When you all changed clothes, I'm sure you saw some swimsuits in your closets."

She led them further along the hallway to a set of swinging double doors.

"In here," she said, leading them in, "is the cafeteria."

Six tables with four chairs each were scattered around the room. The wall directly across from them had a kitchen with all types of metal pots and pans were hanging from the ceiling. A young Asian woman looked up as everyone approached her. Dark hair reached down to her shoulders and rested over the edge of her forehead. Her eyes, which resembled two dark beads, shined at them brightly. Her skin was slightly tanner, and she was dressed in a yellow shirt, an orange apron, and a navy colored skirt with a pattern of swirling green flowers and vines. Her figure was slightly plump, but it gave her a motherly feel. The kitchen smelled like fresh-baked cookies and boiling ramen, which added to the effect.

"Joy, are these the guests?" she asked. Her voice sounded very soft, but there was a hint of a foreign accent in her voice.

"Everyone, this is Ruby. She'll be your chef while you live here. Ruby will make your meals while you live here, but she won't go off and become a personal chef for everyone. If you want something different, you have to pay extra, deal with it, or skip a meal."

Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "My cooking's really good, though, so nobody needs to worry about starving."

Joy led them to the right of the kitchen, where a bar was. There was also a stage, with a TV, some speakers, and a few microphones.

"We even have our own karaoke bar! This is Malon, she runs the beverage side of the bar, with her assistant, Diddy."

Link and DK glanced at each other in surprise as the familiar brunette and the younger monkey waved at them.

"What a surprise, Link! I didn't qualify as a fighter, but they still gave me a job in the bar! I wonder what Talon would think..."

"I make the best smoothies ever! DK, you should stop by and have some!"

At the same time, a teenager with a spiky pink mohawk and glasses and dressed in a one-piece dance suit with the pattern of the British flag walked over. A girl with navy hair, dressed in a neon orange shirt and lime green jeans walked over too. Her eyes looked slightly droopy, giving her a sad appearance.

"Yeah, the four of us run the karaoke bar! I'm Spike, and this is Alice," the pink-haired teen said, gesturing behind him to the girl. "And we specialize in the karaoke and dance sections of the bar."

"Uh, sure," Bowser commented, rolling his eyes. "You should also get a hair stylist here as well, because you look like a regular psycho," He snickered.

Spike grinned sarcastically. "You could use one too! I've never seen a pet turtle that's a red-head!"

Alice grabbed onto his arm gently. "Spike, don't speak that way... they're our guests."

Link glanced at her, noticing her soft voice and delicate features. When she noticed he was staring at her, she let go of Spike's arm and blushed.

Joy then led them to the third floor, where the medical room was located.

"I'll usually be found up here, until we can get a real doctor. It's got a few beds and the latest medical supplies. Our medical closet has many different supplies too."

In curiosity, Link held up two jars in his hands. "Emotion Elixir, Translation Water... what kind of medicine is this?" He replaced the jars on the shelf and raised an eyebrow at the nurse.

Joy giggled and lead them to the fourth floor. "And here are the bathing rooms for the men and women. They're on opposite sides of the floor, of course, we don't want to make any mistakes..."

Bowser muttered something under his breath, but glares from the women shut him up pretty fast.

"Although you have your own private restrooms, you don't have any place to actually _bathe_." Joy explained. "So, the men have to share with their fellow men, and same thing with the women."

Mario panicked. "You mean-a I have to-a see Bowser NAKED-A????"

"Yoshi!" (Gross!)

Link wrapped his arms around himself in a gesture of awkwardness.

"Oh, Link, it's no big deal," Zelda reassured. "They're just guys, after all."

"You're welcome to bathe any time you please, but I would recommend washing in the evening, after a hard day's fight. Speaking of which, how about we figure out the match-ups for tomorrow's fights? There's fourteen of you- Popo and Nana fight as a team, technically- so, how about seven one-on-one matches? Let's go to the first floor and draw names for tomorrow."

**----------------------------------**

The elevator ride seemed to last forever. Each fighter had different things on their minds.

_Gee, I really hope I don't have to fight with Peach... _Mario adjusted his cap awkwardly.

_Pikachu Pika Pika Pikachu Pi Pikachu... _(What would Satoshi think if he saw me fighting humans?)

_Stupid fools... I'm going to be the best fighter... _Bowser tapped his claws against his arms impatiently.

_Does this dress make me look fat? _Peach tugged at the collar on her green dress.

_I wonder if Miss Aran likes coffee... _Captain Falcon tapped a finger to his chin thoughtfully.

_I'm hungry. _Kirby held his stomach.

When the elevator came to a halt, half of the fighters stumbled, distracted by their thoughts. Joy rolled her eyes with a sigh and walked over to the main desk. "The other tall building you saw is where all the virtual arenas will be located. They're all based on your homes."

Ness raised his hand. "Does that mean that there's an Onett?"

"And a jungle?" DK asked. Joy nodded.

"Sweet!" The giant ape and the young boy cheered.

"Now then, we'll have to draw names to determine who and where you'll be fighting. So, without further ado... the first match."

The words flashed up on a TV screen behind Joy. Link and Zelda appeared frightened, as they had never seen a TV before.

_**Kongo Jungle: 10:00 am**_

_Mario vs. Captain Falcon_

_**Mushroom Kingdom: 10:45 am**_

_Fox vs. Zelda_

_**Yoshi's Story: 11:30 am**_

_Bowser vs. Samus_

_**Hyrule Temple: 1:30 pm**_

_Ice Climbers vs. Peach_

_**Rainbow Cruise: 2:15 pm**_

_Yoshi vs. Donkey Kong_

_**Green Greens: 3:00 pm**_

_Kirby vs.Ness_

_**Venom: 4:00 pm**_

_Link vs. Pikachu_

Pikachu looked up at Link. "Chu pika pika pikachu, pi." (Don't think I'm weak because I'm small, Link.)

Link patted the Pokemon's head. "I'll fight you like a true opponent."

"I wonder how you'll fight in battle..." Fox commented to Zelda.

Everyone was already speaking to their future opponents for the next day, although technically Samus and Bowser were quarreling. Two men walked into the room, both with their hands in their pockets.

"Oh, Master, Crazy, these are the new fighters," Joy explained. The two men nodded to each other. Master had straight, silver hair, pulled into a ponytail. Crazy had white spiky hair in a... well, crazy style. (Lol, pretty much they look like Pegasus and Bakura from Yuugiou) Despite their pale hair tones, both men appeared to be in their late thirties to early forties.

"We just wanted to _inspect _them before tomorrow's fights." Crazy snickered.

Bowser glared at the white-haired man. "This guy makes us sound like mutant lab rats..." the giant Koopa murmured to Kirby.

"Who's going last?" Master asked.

Link and Pikachu glanced at each other suspiciously. "... We are, sir." The Hylian replied.

"Ah, a swordsman." Master commented, nodding. He looked down at Link's boots to the shield and sword he had on his back. He smirked for no apparent reason. "Yes, the very epitome of a true warrior." He glanced at the Pokemon uncaringly, before returning his focus to the elf. "Yes, your performance in your future battles shall prove to be quite interesting."

He gestured at Crazy to follow, and left the building.

"I don't like those guys," Ness whispered. "I mean, who has names like 'Master' and 'Crazy'? Do you think they mean anything?"

"Yeah," Mario replied. "Trouble."

Everyone departed to the cafeteria for dinner without any go-ahead from Joy. They ate their Greek food in what was pretty much silence, except for the oohs and aahs coming from Popo and Nana at a plate of delicious mousska. After the meal and a shower, the fighters went to their rooms to sleep in preparation for the matches.

Link, on the other hand, was awake in thought.

"Joy, Master, and Crazy, are up to something." He mused. "Why would there be so many rooms in a place like this for only fourteen fighters. It can't be for tourists, either... why would they want to stay among sweaty fighters and violence? Unless they think we're performers for a laugh. I get the feeling there's more to this than they're willing to reveal..."

**---------------------------------------**

Meanwhile, in a building kept secret from the smashers, the employees were heading for bed. Spike was reapplying his hair dye, Alice was brushing her teeth, and Diddy was drooling, asleep on his pillow.

Underneath the building was a secret vault, similar to the one where the first fighters had appeared in.

In the dark blue light that sifted in, Master was watching a locked door in anticipation.

Crazy stepped out of the door and relocked it, before kicking at it in anger.

"Then you'll just have to wait for another day without eating, huh?!" He snarled, beating at the small square window.

"What did he say?" Master asked.

"Nothing," Crazy replied, wiping off his face with a glove on his left hand. "He just spat on me is all, so I gave him a good slap across the face before I tied up his arms and legs again."

"No food for three days, beatings, and strict restraint seem pretty harsh," Master commented. He smiled evilly. "He'll be ready for tomorrow's fighting."

"Did you ever consider Pikachu might beat that green guy?" Crazy asked.

"It's impossible. That's the same as asking if a rat can defeat a human in hand to hand combat. No, once Link beats that Pokemon thing, he'll be in for a real fight."

Crazy giggled. "That's right! Link loses, he dies; Link wins, we kill the other guy!"

Inside the cell, the prisoner sighed heavily in sorrow, wanting freedom. A spirit like his couldn't be kept chained up. Remembering what Crazy told him, he had no choice but to kill Link or die trying.

**-------------------------------------------**

**bijoukaiba: AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!!!! THE FIRST CHAPTER!!!! I'm kinda disappointed with how it turned out. I've got my next chapter written out on paper, so that one might turn out better. (scrolls over writing) Dude, did I spend all that time elaborating?**

**(hugs the prisoner) Don't worry, I'll leave you anonymous until next chapter. Everyone might be able to guess who he is, but then again... (winks at the reader) you might be wrong...**

**The next few chapters will probably have a better explanation as to what happened right now.**

**So... would you be kind enough to give me a review? Please?**


	2. A Mysterious Challenger Appears

_**Swordplay**_

**bijoukaiba: Hey everyone, I'm really grateful for the reviews! (smiles) I FINALLY BEAT MASTER AND CRAZY HAND!!! And my champion was...? Why, I'm glad you asked! Good ol' Marth of course!! He'd better be in SSB: Brawl... OR ELSE!!! And I managed to kill Giga Bowser too... WITH JIGGLYPUFF!! XD Okay, shutting up! READ!! Please.**

**One of my reviewers was confused by the ending of my last chapter... that will be made clear in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer!**

**Zelda: Hm, I guess I'm the "lucky one" today. bijoukaiba doesn't own SSBM or any of its characters or their related games, or any other characters. She "pwns" Master, Giga, and Crazy, though. (giggles as Marth and Jigglypuff give the thumbs-up)**

**--------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 2: A Mysterious Challenger Appears**

At eight in the morning, everyone had been called into the dining hall for breakfast. Ruby had prepared bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and toast (with those little disposable containers of jelly and butter you might find in a restaurant or hotel) on the side. There was also coffee (with cream and sugar available to those wanted it), milk, tea, and juice in several fruit varieties.

Nana, carrying her plate with eggs, bacon, buttered toast, and grapefruit juice, took a seat next to Link. The teenage elf was eating his toast silently without any emotion of enjoyment.

"Hey, Link? Are you feeling okay?" Nana asked. Link glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Yeah, Nana, I just didn't sleep so well last night."

"Maybe you-a should have some-a coffee," Mario suggested, who was sitting across from Nana. He stood up. "I'll-a go get you some if-a you'd like. I'll put some sugar and-a creamer in it-a too."

Link nodded gratefully at the plumber while Nana patted his shoulder with a mitten-covered hand. "Are you worried about the fight, Link? With Pikachu?"

He glanced over at the electric mouse Poke'mon, who was wearing a blue wizard's hat and sitting two tables to the left from him with Ness, Kirby, and Captain Falcon (who appeared unhappy about dressing in a white body suit with a pink helmet, pink gloves, and pink boots).

"No," Link replied as he wiped a dab of butter from his red tunic. "I was busy thinking last night..."

"About what?"

"Stuff."

Nana gave him a no-duh look, which made him smile for the first time that morning.

"Please, tell me?"

At that moment, Mario walked over carrying a hot cup of coffee for Link with extra cream and sugar in it. He didn't say anything else while he drank his coffee.

**-------------------------------------**

At last the fated time of ten arrived. Mario, Captain Falcon, and the rest of the fighters headed for the other tall building next to their dormitories. Some gazed at the lovely beach beside them, others stared at the building filled with dread, and Bowser stared at the ground in boredom.

Sure enough, Crazy and Master were inside to greet them.

"What a big surprise," Bowser mumbled sarcastically.

"Heh heh heh... Mario and Captain Falcon are up first." Crazy snickered with a grin.

Master shook hands with them and showed them a special elevator. "In here, you'll find buttons to all the stages you want to access. Some buttons won't be revealed until we think you're ready. Ah, here we go! The Kongo Jungle! And don't mind the background music, it's just there to egg you on. Every stage has its own music, and some stages even have two theme songs! Sometimes, it just depends on who's fighting there. Good luck to both of you, and remember- although damage stats will rise in this fight, YOU CANNOT ACTUALLY BE HURT. Crazy and I have a special switch that regulates that."

Captain Falcon and Mario stepped into the elevator and waved to the rest of them.

"Go get him, Mario! I'm sure you'll win!!" Peach cheered.

The elevator made a whirring sound that grew fainter as it pulled further away from the ground floor.

"In the meantime..." Master continued, pulling a remote from his pocket. He clicked a button on it that caused a large plasma screen TV to slide out from the ceiling. Link and Zelda were still clearly confused by all the new technology. The Kongo Jungle was displayed there, and Captain Falcon (clad in white and pink) and Mario (clad in black overalls and a white shirt) had just landed in to fight. In the background, the DK rap was heard playing. "... we can watch the fight in here. Crazy, go get some popcorn from Ruby."

"Wow! I love this song!" Donkey Kong cheered.

Mario shifted uneasily facing the bounty hunter across from him. Master and Crazy had seemed like trouble... what if he really could hurt Falcon here? Then again, if neither of them fought, they would probably have to continue the fight until one of them lost.

"I'm sorry if-a this hurts, Captain!"

"It's all right, Mario!" Captain Falcon gestured in a type of salute. "Show me your moves!"

Mario fired a fireball at him, and watched as Captain Falcon flinched briefly. "It's okay! Didn't feel a thing!"

On the big screen, the display showed figures in the bottom left hand corner. One had a small image of Mario and the number 0 in front of a red mushroom symbol. The other had a small image of Captain Falcon and the number 5 in front of the symbol of a falcon with its wings spread.

"Then those are the damage percentages we heard about yesterday, right?" Kirby asked. Master nodded.

Captain Falcon drew his fist back as Mario started running towards him. A gleam of light showed in his fist.

"FALCON... PUNCH!!!"

In a blazing display of a flaming falcon, his fist connected with Mario's body, sending him flying up in flames. His damage percentage rapidly increased to 24.

"Oh Mario! That didn't hurt him, right?" Peach asked, concerned. Bowser smacked his forehead.

"You imbocile! The guy just said they won't feel any pain!"

Ness turned to Master and asked, "Hey, how long will this match last?"

"We decided to keep things short and simple. It's a one stock fight. So, at the most, maybe ten minutes. The remaining time gives the fighters a chance to strategize and enjoy themselves. That being said, if anyone is bored, you're welcome to leave. BUT BE ON TIME FOR YOUR NEXT MATCH!!"

Donkey Kong left to get a soda, and Zelda followed, intrigued by what a "soda" was. **((A/N: Sorry if I'm making Link and Zelda sound like idiots! But they're from the past so they don't know what sodas or anything in the present is!))**

Pikachu's ears perked up and pointed to the screen while Captain Falcon and Mario exchanged punches and kicks in the meantime, the plumber's damage at 84 and the racer's damage at 65.

"Chu, pi! Pika pi chu pi!" (Hey, look! It's a Pokeball!)

Before anyone could ask, Captain Falcon had leapt onto the platform with the red and white ball and threw it at Mario out of sheer curiosity. It opened up and revealed a large green animal that appeared to have a giant flower on its back. "VENASAUR!!!" It roared and began slamming its body against the ground creating huge shock waves. Mario was sent hurtling into the sky, disappearing as a star.

"GAME!!!" Master announced. "THIS GAME'S WINNER IS... CAPTAIN FALCON!!"

"No, no, no!!" Peach whimpered in denial, as Falcon performed a roundhouse kick in a victory pose.

As the plumber and the bounty hunter emerged from the elevator, several of the other smashers came over to them to comment and ask questions about their fight.

"I must say, Falcon, pink is such a manly color," Samus chuckled.

Captain Falcon shook his head in reply. _I swear I'm going to burn this thing..._

"Oh Mario, it was soooo close! I don't think it's fair you lost!" Peach whined while pouting.

"Ararara Yoshi hup?" (Are either of you guys hurt?)

"Zelda and I just got sodas, do you want me to get something for you?" Donkey Kong offered.

"Guys!" Mario shouted over the commotion. "We're-a fine! It's-a like they said, we weren't-a hurt at all-a!"

"In fact..." Captain Falcon smiled. "It was quite the experience! Fox, Zelda, guys- don't worry about a thing. It's very exciting!"

This statement left several of the smashers grinning excitedly.

Master nodded. "You heard the man. Fox and Zelda, report here for the next match in forty-five minutes."

**----------------------**

After the minor intermission that included strawberry smoothies, courtesy of Diddy Kong, for Captain Falcon and Mario and a game of checkers between Ness and Nana, the fated time of 10:45 arrived.

Zelda was clad in a green dress and Fox was dressed in a blue jacket.

"Best of luck in our match!" He commented, shaking "hands" with Zelda.

"Same to you," Zelda replied sweetly as they stepped into the elevator. They were carried up onto their appropriate floor, which had a retro feel to it with MIDI-style music playing in the background and pixelated images moving in the background.

Standing on opposite sides of the arena with a large brick platform and two pits about half the size of the platform on either side of it, Fox and Zelda faced each other for their battle.

Zelda swung her arms toward Fox, her body glowing red as an orb of glowing orange energy flew towards him. Swinging her arms in the opposite direction with a small shout, the orb exploded into flames, incinerating the vulpine's body. His damage percentage rose to 11.

"She's using the 'Din's Fire' technique," Link commented to Yoshi.

"Yoshi. Hup!" (I see. Cool!)

"Pretty nice spell... but how well do you perform in hand-to-hand combat?" Fox yelled. He got on one knee and made a beckoning motion with one hand. "Come on!" He taunted, nodding his head in his direction.

Zelda made a gesture that looked as though she was praying, then ran over to Fox. He darted towards her as well, only much faster. As she came within striking range, he used his built up momentum to leap forward and deliver a kick to her ribs, only to have a small blast of magic energy strike him in the face. He flipped out his blaster and made a few shots, but Zelda created a beautiful shield around herself to block. She spun her body within her beautiful crystal chrysalis; a large geometric figure with many sides and edges that looked like it was made of cerulean glass, and as it spun what appeared to be small blue diamonds struck his shots and flung the energy back at him.

"And that one was 'Nayru's Love'... makes a nice shield, huh?" Link explained to Kirby, as Zelda's percentage rose to 14 and Fox's rose to 22.

"Yeah!" Kirby giggled. Link gave him a puzzled look. _They don't know about my special powers! Heehee... I gotta try that Nayru Love thingy out if I ever get to fight Zelda!!_

Zelda was sent flying into a brick wall directly suspended above her heads as Fox performed a backflip and kicked her up powerfully at the same time. Her damage percentage rose rapidly to 34. She fell to the ground but recovered by rolling out of harm's way, then firing several shots of magic through her hands at Fox, smashing him backwards with a percentage of 44. She ducked onto one knee and began throwingout several low kicks, each one dealing out four to seven points each time she hit. After being dealt a total of 17, Fox managed to leap up and deliver a kick to Zelda's collarbone.

_Now think, Zelda... Captain Falcon was able to beat Mario when he got one of those Pikaman things that comes in those red and white balls... if I can get to one of those, it could seal Fox's fate!_

Turning away from Fox and facing his original starting point, she spotted a large purple and white capsule. _Maybe that holds a Pikaman!_

She leapt over to the capsule, then turned and flung it at Fox. It struck him directly, but instead of holding a "Pikaman" it exploded in bright flames and sent Fox flying backwards at a low angle into the pit on the left. He flew and hit his back against the left wall, tumbled into the right wall, then with a roar of defeat, finally succumbed to the pit.

"GAME!!" Master called.

Link threw a fist up into the air and cheered loudly, "YEAH!!"

Zelda made her victory pose of conjuring a smaller scale of Din's Fire close to her heart.

"This game's winner is... ZELDA!!!"

Five minutes later Zelda and Fox emerged from the elevator grinning.

"So that's how you use those spells... I've never seen anyone fight like that!"

"And I've never seen anyone use a blaster gun like yours! I've never seen one at all, actually..."

"Come on, we'll go get a milkshake to celebrate and talk about some things here in the present."

"Oh Fox, that sounds great! Hey, a milkshake has milk in it, right? Or is it another type of those yummy sodas?" **((Like I said, remember that they don't really understand much about the present!))**

Fox and Zelda went off to the karaoke bar while Link watched them walk off. "Hmm... guess they didn't have much conflict after their fight. Hey Mario, will you or Ness help me out with how the technology around here works? I still have no idea what a TV is."

Ness and Mario exchanged a grin, then replied simultaneously, "We'll both help!"

**--------------------------------**

At the Yoshi's Story arena, Samus had been able to destroy Bowser with two completely charged shots, three bombs, and a powerful smash from her cannon. The Koopa had only been able to catch her in his spikes while spinning his body rapidly and using his flame breath to singe her armor. After the fight, Captain Falcon offered to buy her a drink, but she politely declined and explained she wasn't thirsty ((Aww... I still think that was nice of you, Falcon!! Lol)). Ness and Mario had finally gotten Link to understand how to use a TV, remote, DVD player, and even (author audibly gasps) a refridgerator and a hair dryer. Link had joked around with them about how he was lucky enough to learn how to use a toilet, the sink, and turn on the lights on his own.

Lunch came and went, with sandwiches being offered as the dish of the day. Mario, Ness, and Link all ate meatball subs as they continued the lesson, and Fox and Zelda both got a tasty chicken salad gyro as they sat and chatted at the bar. Bowser and Peach came in late for lunch and as a consequence, got the last available sandwiches- egg salad.

The Hero of Time reunited with Zelda in the common room of the building that held the fighting arenas. They both wanted to see what the Hyrule Temple arena looked like, and they were curious about the way that children such as Nana and Popo would fight. Zelda made sure to compliment Fox about how well he explained everything to her, and Link mentioned the excellent teachings of Mario and Ness.

"By the way, Link, you should try the milkshakes here! Malon explained they're made with real Lon Lon Milk, and Diddy Kong also added yummy ingredients called chocolate and ice cream! Fox told me ice cream is kinda like frozen milk, but it's nice and soft when you eat it."

Nana, clad in an orange parka, and Popo, clad in a pale blue parka appeared on the screen. Peach was dressed in a white dress.

"Cute, she looks like a nurse!" Zelda giggled.

The Ice Climbers stuck out their hammers as the wind breezed past and chirped, "Yep!"

"Are you trying to threaten me?" Peach jested, plucking a turnip with a happy face from the ground. "Because I'm not scared. Yeah!" She tossed the turnip at the Ice Climbers. It hit Popo squarely in the face, but it missed Nana. Back in the real world, the smashers were puzzled when they saw the damage percentage for the Ice Climbers remained at zero.

"I don't-a get it..." Mario mused. "It-a hit Popo perfectly! Why didn't their-a damage go up?"

"That's part of the Ice Climber's trick," Master explained. "Without telling them, we decide which Ice Climber is the 'leader'. If the leader is hit, their damage percentage goes up. For instance, in this match, Nana is the leader. Because the turnip hit _Popo_, their percentage didn't rise. Also, if the other Ice Climber falls, the leader can continue fighting. Granted, it'll be much harder, but it gives Nana or Popo a second chance for victory."

Mario folded his arms and watched as Peach slapped Nana twice across the face, and sure enough the damage rose to 6. Popo came to her rescue by whacking Peach with his hammer. Then hooking arms square-dance style, the two Eskimos spun rapidly towards Peach, striking her several times. 4, 7, 11, the screen read. Then the duo knelt down and shot an icy gust from their hands, freezing the princess briefly as it rose her damage percentage even more. As they tried to strike with their hammers, she whipped out her trusty bodyguard/servant/friend, Toad, and he reluctantly took the blows from the hammers but shot out the force back at Popo and Nana.

She spun around in joy and winked cutely after realizing the edge she had gained over her opponent. "Sweet!" she squealed, only to be struck by the two hammers and be sent hurtling towards the edge of the temple battlefield. She popped out her umbrella and delicately floated back onto the same level as the Ice Climbers. They saw this coming and powerfully swung their hammers above their heads to strike underneath her. Peach shrieked as she flew off screen as a tiny star.

"MAMMA-MIA!! PEACH!!" Mario glared at Ness who was cheering loudly for the Ice Climbers.

"THIS GAME'S WINNERS ARE... THE ICE CLIMBERS!!"

Nana and Popo made a cute victory pose by peeping out at the camera behind each other.

At the elevator, Peach made a calm exit. She didn't seem upset about her loss, but she still didn't seem too chipper about it either. Ness, Popo and Nana were leaping for joy together, talking about getting cookies to celebrate. At the mentioning of sweets, Yoshi and Kirby perked up too.

"Yoshi arara hup, hup?" (I guess a snack couldn't hurt, huh?)

**-----------------------**

Yoshi and DK's match had ended in a Sudden Death, but DK pulled out victorious after he grabbed a walking bomb (referred to as a "Bomb-Omb") and flung it right at the feet of Yoshi. The explosion sent him hurtling off the Rainbow Cruise. Donkey Kong clasped his hands together and shook them above his head in victory. Forty five minutes later, Ness and Kirby prepared to enter the bright battlefield of Green Greens. This also gave Kirby the homefield advantage.

Mario twirled his moustache in thought as he watched Kirby and Ness appear on the screen. "Hmmm... I wonder..."

Nana looked up at him. "What is it, Mario?"

"Ness told-a us he has-a the powers of-a ESP and PSI. What-a sort of powers do you-a think Kirby has-a?"

Nana shrugged. "Probably won't be too impressive. He's just a pink puffba- WHOAAA!!!!"

Kirby had opened his mouth to practically the size of his body and had sucked Ness into his mouth.

"No wonder he has such a big appetite!" Samus marveled. Ness had been let out, but Kirby was now sporting a baseball cap just like Ness. Using ESP he floated up in a flip directly above Kirby.

Kirby balled up his little "fists" and in his cute little voice, shouted, "PK FLASH!!" A small wave of green energy floated above him towards the airborne Ness, then exploded in a mass of green and white sparkles and flashes of light. His damage rose from 8 to 24 in that minor shot. Kirby floated up and spun himself in midair, creating a combo as his arms and legs struck Ness. Even before Ness could land, Kirby swung a hammer at him, then yanked out a sword and with two sharp cries, he dove up into the air and flung it down, creating a shockwave that struck Ness.

Now the psychic boy had a chance to retaliate. As Kirby dashed towards him, Ness threw both his hands forwards along with an orange streak of light. With a cry of "PK Fire!", a small inferno targeted directly on Kirby lit up. Ness repeated his attack constantly, then pulled out his favorite yo-yo and twirled it above him in an arc, sending Kirby upward. Ness leapt up onto the platform, ready to whack Kirby again, when the "puffball" changed into a black ball with silver spikes. Before he realized it was too late, Ness was crushed under the weight and impact, and was sent hurtling into the sky.

"GAME!! THIS GAME'S WINNER IS... KIRBY!!!" The warrior from a distant star leapt up a few times and spun around before throwing a joyful fist into the air.

Everyone stared at Kirby agape while he proudly walked out of the elevator. Ness also walked out, looking fairly embarrassed that he had only been able to land a few hits on his opponent.

"Remember... size gives you no reason to underestimate a fighter!" Kirby giggled.

Master chuckled, then looked at his watch. He smirked at the time he saw. "Okay... our final match between Link and Pikachu at the Venom arena will be in one hour. Until then, ciao."

The smashers nonchalantly left the building, leaving only Master and Crazy in the room.

"I don't want to wait an hour!" Crazy whined. "I want him to fight now!!"

"Show some patience, will you?" Master snapped.

"I can't help it!! I've been waiting to kill one of these guys for ages!! Personally, I'm hoping Link kicks our guy's ass."

Master rolled his eyes at the request of his accomplice. "Tell you what, brother. Send him to the Fountain of Dreams arena for his match. And remember to tell him it's kill or be killed. I'd do it myself, but you're the only one who understands him."

Crazy sniggered. "I can handle this just fine."

**------------------------------**

He unlocked the door in the prison and undid the ropes that held the prisoner bound up. He looked up at Crazy in surprise.

"Huh?"

"What are you looking at?"

"Hmph."

"Shut up and get your weapon."

He glared at the white-haired man. Crossing his arms over his chest, he turned away as a sign of defiance.

Roughly, Crazy grabbed him by the front of his battle garb. He briefly held up his left hand (still clad in a white glove) over his face in case the prisoner tried to spit on him again.

"Listen, you pompous little brat, we're doing this for entertainment. At least make it interesting for us. And don't forget, we have your little girlfriend and sister hostage."

He growled as a sign of retaliation.

"It's perfectly within our power. All it takes a sword and-"

The prisoner sighed and nodded, giving in to Crazy's demand.

The prisoner got a slap across the face. Apparently, this was Crazy's method of agreeing that he had a deal.

"Now then, here's the plan. You're going to an arena known as the Fountain of Dreams..."

**-----------------------------**

Link, clad in his red tunic, and blue-hatted Pikachu stepped onto the elevator heading for Venom.

"Pika, pi!" (Good luck, Link!)

When they appeared on screen, they had landed on opposite ends of the Great Fox, one fighter on each wing. Pikachu started the match by firing a small Thundershock that followed a curved trajectory as it bounced several times on the ship... but never struck Link.

"Hmm... that attack seemed pretty short," Donkey Kong commented.

The Hero of Time leapt over the dorsal wing of the plane and stuck his sword out below him, tip facing down, ready to stab the electric mouse below him. Pikachu leapt onto his two legs and powerfully cried out, "PIKA!!!" A dark ebony cloud formed overhead Pikachu and a streak of golden lightning shot to the ground, striking Link in the process. He quickly shook off the injury and followed through with his attack. The tip struck Pikachu accurately, and he grunted as he was thrown against the dorsal wing. Throwing out a kick as he returned to his feet, the Poke'mon twirled his body as blue sparks were expelled from his electrical cheeks. Link was sucked into the whirling vaccuum and took several strong zaps from Pikachu.

"Haha, the "Great Hero" is losing to an electric rat!" Bowser laughed.

"Ohh... COME ON LINK!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!" Ness cheered.

Link recovered from the assault by pulling out a bomb and hurtling it at Pikachu in a fiery cardinal-red explosion. He spun around at high speeds in a vortex of red as Pikachu was whipped about by Link's blade, before sparking another jolt of electricity at Link. Their damage percentages had now risen to 43 for the elf, 36 for the Poke'mon. Link swung his blade in two arcs, striking Pikachu off the ship. The Poke'mon now had reached 77, but despite the statistics, he shot himself upwards in streaks of blue and white electricity, landing safely back on the ship. Pikachu performed a backflip, kicking Link into the air at a percentage of 57, then used a Thunder attack to raise his damage to 67.

At the height he had reached in the air, a strike from his swordtip would send Pikachu spiraling off into the heavens, and send Link to his second fight, unbeknownst to him. As he drew closer with increasing speed, zapping sounds could be heard behind him. Three small jets, in the color of royal blue and silver, fired six fiery shots at Link. Unfortunately, at his height, he was easily sent hurtling into the air.

"No..." Master murmured in shock. "There's no way... it can't be... Link was actually... _defeated? Then that means..._"

"You know, I figured if there was a Great Fox, then there would be Arwings," Fox interpreted, not listening to Master.

"GAME!!" Master's voice shouted, despite the surprised look on his face. "This game's winner is... PIKACHU!!" Pikachu appeared to be sleeping peacefully after such a tough battle. This cued several "aww"s and "oooh"s from Peach, Zelda, and Nana, plus a smile from Samus.

"Girls..." Popo muttered to Ness. They laughed softly.

At last the elevator opened to reveal Link, who was grinning despite his defeat.

"Did you see that guy? Pikachu's pretty strong for being so small!" He complimented. He turned around to congratulate his opponent. "Nice fight, Pikachu!"

The elevator was empty.

"Pikachu?"

As the elevator closed, Kirby had noticed that it was headed for the Fountain of Dreams stage.

"But that's impossible!" Master lied. "He could only travel there if he was having a fight, and we just had our final match for the day. Not to mention that all of our other thirteen fighters are here! Unless..." he gasped audibly. "Quick! What's on the TV screen?"

The others fixed their attention on the TV screen. The image of the fountain couldn't be seen on the screen. Instead, it had turned completely blue, with a gigantic black exclamation mark in the center, taking up most of the screen.

"Then it's just as I feared..." Master whispered in mock worry.

"What?" Zelda asked. She found herself clinging to Link in anticipation. Master pointed to the screen.

"A NEW CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED" had been spelled out in red letters on the TV monitor in front of the exclamation mark.

**--------------------------**

Pikachu gazed around in confusion at the starry sky and the bright waters of the Fountain of Dreams. To Pikachu, it seemed like one of those dreams that had suddenly turned into a nightmare. At any other time, Pikachu would be thrilled to be in combat here, but without his friends... it seemed very haunted. Much like the waters of the fountain, the arena appeared to have two sides- a bright and beautiful side reflected on one side and a darker, more mysterious side on the other.

"Piii... ka-" (Hey, guys-)

At that moment, a he felt a blow to his back from something long and hard. ((Ew, not like that!!!)) It felt a lot like a sword.

"PIKA?!" (LINK?!) He shouted as he flipped into the air. The Poke'mon crashed to the ground, glimpsing up at his opponent. He couldn't glimpse his face, but he was clearly a swordsman, made obvious by the blade at his side. The swordsman was dressed in darker colors, but Pikachu was too dizzy to tell if his wardrobe was black or blue. Shaking his head, he threw a kick out at the swordsman as he got to his feet.

"Chu, chu pi?" (Hey, what gives?) His face connected with the tip of the blade and he was sent flying backwards. He barely clutched onto the edge of the fountain to keep from falling. This definitely wasn't a smasher. Sure, they were fighters with a desire to win, but none of them- probably not even _Bowser_- would be this aggressive to win. Pikachu's eyes grew wide in fear.

_Pikachu... ka pikapi?_ (Could it be... an assassin?) He pulled himself up onto the ledge, then dove head first and whacked his attacker backwards. He fired a blast of electricity at his opponent, sending his opponent into mid-air only to have him slice his blade downward and whack Pikachu aside once again.

"PIKACHU!!" He cried in pain. His opponent froze in mid approach, sword still held high in his hand. This was the first time his opponent's identity had been fully established. This was clearly not the 'Link' he had been assigned to fight. At the beginning of the fight, he had his doubts that 'Link' would be a cute and furry little creature, but heck, how could he have known?

It gazed up at him with frightened eyes, expecting any breath it took to be its last. Pikachu had hardly moved at all, "playing possum" instinctively. If this wasn't Link, what was he supposed to do? The confusion was bothering him. He finally figured that Master and Crazy would understand if he hadn't been fighting because he didn't get the proper opponent. He was also a peaceful person at heart, and couldn't stand to see an innocent being- person or creature- geting abused for an unfair reason. But what if this was a trick? What if he had to defeat this creature in order to fight Link to save his sister and female friend?

No, he decided. It was still unfair to this Pikachu thing. He could explain what happened to Crazy. He would be given a second chance. He wanted to save his loved ones dearly, but taking an innocent life in the process? He knew they wouldn't want to be saved that way.

Pikachu watched in confusion and apprehension as the swordsman lowered his arm and blade to his side.

"Pi?" (What?)

He got to his feet and threw out a headbutt into the swordsman's stomach. He flew backwards, clutching his stomach, but otherwise did nothing.

_Pikachu... pi pika pi chu ka?_ (_It's as if... he's lost the will to fight?)_

**-------------**

In the secret headquarters of the two "owners" of the Battle Royale Suites, Crazy was watching their match on a private TV.

"Idiot!" Crazy shouted angrily, banging his fist against a table. His popcorn spilled everywhere. "Fight back! Fight back!"

**-----------------**

Pikachu felt his confidence returning. He used his Thundershock against his opponent- it was a weak attack and easy to block or dodge- and it hit his foe perfectly. Charging up energy, Pikachu dove at his opponent in a Skull Bash attack. The swordsman caught on to the ledge of the fountain and leapt up, bringing his sword down out of instinct. The tip managed to scratch against Pikachu's nose, but the courageous Poke'mon grabbed onto the swordsman and flipped him behind his back. Pikachu whirled his body around in a whirlpool of blue sparks, catching the swordsman in the vortex. Next he performed a backflip, kicking his opponent onto the highest platform directly above him. As he got to his feet, Pikachu gave out a sharp cry of "PIKA!!!" A lightning bolt crashed to the ground as he got to his feet. The swordsman was sent hurtling into the sky and disappeared as a star.

"Pika pikachu!" (Just like Team Rocket!) Pikachu giggled. He felt the environment around him becoming fizzy, just like the graphics. Before Pikachu could blink an eye, he was teleported into the elevator and was on his way down.

The smashers stared at the door, expecting some wicked person or an evil monster step out. Link and Zelda braced for Ganondorf, Fox was ready to draw his blaster if it was Andross, and Samus was prepared to load her cannon in case it was Ridley. When it opened, Pikachu stepped out with a tired smile. Everyone smiled to see the familiar Poke'mon.

"Pikachu! You're okay!" Peach squealed in glee, holding out her arms. She pouted when Pikachu leapt into Zelda's arms instead.

"Pikachu... are you really feeling okay?" she asked.

"Pika. Pikachu pika." (Yeah. The stress just has me slightly tired.) He replied.

"Don't drift off to sleep just yet," Kirby warned. "Just tell us, what did your attacker look like?"

Pikachu described the match in detail. He apologized for not being able to get a look at his foe's face, then described seeing dark clothes and that he was a swordsman.

Link's ears perked up. "Pikachu... did he use any projectiles... a boomerang, a bow, anything like that?"

Pikachu shook his head in denial. "Pikachu." (Just a sword.)

The Hero of Time gazed at the Triforce of Courage seal on his glove.

_Is it possible...? That Dark Link is here?_

Zelda glanced over at Link. "You think it might be Dark Link too, huh?" she whispered softly. Link nodded. **(A/N: I have no idea if Zelda knows about Dark Link or not, but if she doesn't please just play along!)**

Master walked over at that moment and sympathetically patted Pikachu's head.

"Poor little guy. You should all head back to your dorms for a much needed rest and meal."

Bowser glared. "Excuse me, we just had a fighter attacked! What if he comes after ME next? Or anyone else? Not that it matters..." He roared.

Master held up his hands in a calming gesture to silence the overgrown Koopa.

"The only way he can get out is through that elevator." he explained. _At least that you know of..._ Master thought.

"So there's no way he could be in our dorms?" Donkey Kong asked.

"Precisely, my simian friend." Master confirmed confidently. "Crazy and I shall guard this doorway with our lives."

Link smacked a fist into his gloved hand. "I'll help too!" he added.

Master shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but you are our guests. It is the duty of my brother and I to protect your lives." He insisted.

Zelda placed a hand on her companion's shoulder. "Link," she whispered. "Just do as he says. For your own safety."

Link sighed and agreed to Zelda's demand, before turning to Master. "Fine then. But be careful. Only if it's absolutely necessary should you kill him."

Master nodded, then shooed them off. "I completely understand your concerns, Link. Go now, all you, eat hearty and sleep well! It's Friday, so enjoy your weekend! We don't have any melees on Saturday or Sunday!"

_As for your plan, Link... killing him was our idea all along!_

_**-------------------------------------**_

Dinner that night was spaghetti. It was so good Link couldn't help but grin at the taste, smiling for the first time that evening since Pikachu was attacked. Mario, Fox, and Kirby, who were sitting with him, began teasing him about smiling everytime he ate Ruby's cooking. That being said and done, not much happened the rest of the night except for showering and the smashers saying their goodnights to each other.

"Remember, Pikachu, if anything goes wrong, just call for me or DK, and we'll come help you."

"Chu, Pika." (Thanks, Samus)

"Just relax, Link... Master and Crazy are handling this. Don't let it keep you from sleeping. Sweet dreams."

"... Okay. Zelda, you were the one given Wisdom. I'll take your advice. Good night."

**--------------**

Master and Crazy had designed a portal to send their assassin to after he had battled (and hopefully defeated) his opponent. The swordsman was flat on his stomach, starting to recover from his previous fight several hours ago. Crazy walked over and knelt beside him. He cruelly gripped the swordsman's hair and yanked him to his knees.

"Rise and shine, gorgeous! You failed!" He yelled.

"Pi-Pikachu-" He was cut off by a sound slap across the face.

"I don't care if it was Pikachu or Link or WHOEVER!!! You were supposed to kill them!"

He shook his head. No, no, this had never been part of their agreement! It was only suposed to be Link! They had never said killing whoever he fought! His only target was supposed to be Link!

Master walked over.

"So, I heard he failed."

"Exactly. He just quit fighting in the middle of the battle." Crazy explained.

The swordsman glared at him with a hint of bloodlust in his eyes. The type of glare given by a true warrior.

"And it's just like I warned you," Crazy hissed. "They're dead."

The warrior gave a gasp and covered his mouth with both hands.

Crazy continued sniggering. "What were their names again? Sheila and Alyssa? Something like that?"

"Hyah!" With an angered cry and hot tears in his eyes, the swordsman leapt to his feet, drawing out his blade. His dear ones weren't named Sheila or Alyssa, but he knew what Crazy was implying based on the pronunciation.

He dashed forward with a rapid slice towards Master, but Crazy grabbed him from behind and proceeded to inject a needle into his neck.

"Errrghhh..." The swordsman murmured, his blade falling to the ground beside him.

"Feeling sleepy?" Crazy teased. "This needle will knock you out in about another minute or so. You'll forget everything within the past five hours, including your battle with Pikachu and the deaths of sister and little girlfriend."

He tried to resist the effects the drug was having on his body, but his resistance was futile. The images of a laughing Crazy and Master became blurry and faded away into a dark, unconscious sleep.

Master picked up the blade and returned it to the sheath.

"Brother, why did you do that?" Crazy asked.

"I figured it would be honorable for a swordsman to be buried with his weapon." Master chuckled.

Crazy grinned. "And where shall we dig his grave?"

Master smirked. "How about the ocean?"

**--------------------------**

With a heavy ball of lead chained to his leg, the swordsman was thrown into the ocean. Crazy was sniggering the whole time.

"Adios, loser! Now then, what will we tell the smashers?" Crazy asked.

"Plain and simple- we were attacked, we killed him, body was disposed of. Don't go into any details. Just keep it to basic details." Master hinted.

"Impressive. Brother, why did you have to get all the brains?" his sibling whined

"Because you're the one they call Crazy. Now let's get out of here." Master ordered.

**--------------------------------**

In their freetime, the water Poke'mon enjoyed taking a swim in the ocean to relax after a long day's fighting.

Marill was swimming along freely when suddenly she noticed a human in chains along the bottom.

"Marill! Marill!" (Guys! It's a human!)

"Goldeen?" (Why is he in chains?)

"Marill, Marill! Marill, rill, Marill!" (I don't think he's supposed to be! Blastoise, Staryu, get him out!)

Staryu fired a barage of energy-balls of light at the chains, known as its "Swift Attack".

Blastoise grabbed onto him with one arm, then fired its water cannons for jet propulsion towards shore. Marill clutched onto its shell for dear life as well.

"Blastoise?" (Should we take him to the humans?)

"Rill. Marill rill. Rill rill, marill marill. Mar, marill rill mar." (No. Humans are dumb. The minute they see us, they'll think we hurt him. Or, they'll try to capture us.)

"Blast, blastoise?" (So, what should we do?)

Marill looked at the human, who was coughing heavily and breathing hoarsely.

"Mar, marill marill mar marill. Marill rill marill." (Well, we can only hope the humans rescue him here. Before it's too late.)

**---------------------------------------------------------------**

**bijoukaiba: Sorry for taking so long to update! I've got Chapter 3 on paper, so that one should arrive much faster. Ugh, I felt like I rushed on the last few parts with Crazy, Master, the goodnights, and the Poke'mon. **

**It's also really hard to keep the prisoner anonymous. Everyone probably has him figured out by now! And if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, rorozoro, then you're probably right. Or is Link correct, is it really Dark Link? (shifty eyes)**

**My grammar seems really bad too. Maybe I'm just feeling it. Meh. Will you send me a review, please?**


	3. The Mysterious Figure Reappears

_**Swordplay**_

**bijoukaiba: Well, I did say that Chapter 3 would arrive much faster, didn't I? After an odd dream on the eve of May 23 (how curious... I went to Japan a year ago on that day!!), I had an inspiration for a few chapters later in the story. Heh-heh... SPOILER: My dream was about Ness. That's all I'm saying.**

**Some reviewers have wondered if I will put SSB: Brawl characters in such as Snake and Pit. Because this was published prior to the publicity of the five new characters (and not to mention the fact the dorms only have 25 rooms), I apologize to Pit, Snake, Meta-Knight, and Wario, but THEY WILL NOT BE IN THIS STORY. They might be mentioned every so often, though. I might change my mind later on, too. Maybe I'll put them in another story? Hmm, who knows...**

**Now, Disclaimer time! Our lucky friend is...**

**Mario: Okey-dokey, bijoukaiba doesn't-a own Nintendo, Super Smash Bros. Melee, or any of-a its characters!**

_**-------------------------------------------------------**_

**Chapter 3: The Mysterious Figure Reappears**

The next morning, Zelda found herself strolling in the Hyrule Temple arena to simply enjoy herself.

_Hmm... I wonder if Fox is here... maybe I'll get to fight Kirby on Monday. But what if I end up against Link, DK, or Bowser? Those might be challenging fights..._

"Zelda!" Came a familiar voice.

"Link? Hey, good morning!" she cheerfully replied.

"Not quite," he responded huskily. Zelda then realized that it wasn't Link... it was his darker alter ego.

"Dark Link!" she whispered.

"Surprised?" he smirked. "I'm back!" He brandished his bow and before Zelda could act, he had fired the arrow deeply into her chest. The princess squeezed her eyes shut in pain. Her fists were clamped tightly onto the arrow, but she had lost the strength to pull it out.

"Go to the ocean," she heard Link, the _real_ Link, comment. "Wash away the wounds and the anger! Before it's too late!"

She could hear the sea roaring in the background. When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring at the ceiling. Frigid beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.

It had all been a dream.

_Was it some type of sign? Dark Link and the ocean... maybe Link had the same dream too!_

Still clad in her lavender nightgown, she headed downstairs to check on her friend. Walking up to his doorway, she realized Ness was already there, clad in cute blue pajamas speckled with baseballs.

"Zelda!" He whispered. "You had the dream too?"

She nodded. "What's up with Link?"

Ness grinned. "Well, he snores pretty loudly. I don't think he's been dreaming."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

A bit of silence followed.

"So, what did you see in your dream, Ness?" Zelda inquired.

"Well, I was at the beach and I saw Link dressed in pure black. He was really evil. He shot an arrow at me! Then I got scared and woke up." Ness explained.

Zelda nodded. "That sounds just like Dark Link. I think it's probably safe to say this was just a dream, although Dark Link and the beach seemed pretty prominent."

Ness pouted. "What? But I want you to help me find him!" He clenched his fists in vigor. "If we're the only ones who've had this dream, then maybe we're the only ones who can stop him!"

"No way, Ness! It's too dangerous for us. I'm going back to bed right now, in fact."

Ness wouldn't give up yet! He was too crafty for that.

"Okay," he sighed, giving in to Zelda's wishes. He turned towards the stairway. "Then I'll just have to go alone."

Zelda halted in midstep. "What?" She hissed. "You can't go alone!"

"Sure I can," Ness muttered nonchalantly. "And if I get killed... well, it'll be for the good of the smashers."

"Overdramatic little..." Zelda felt her temper rising. "Wait for me! I'll go too."

Before Ness's eyes, she had transformed herself into her alter ego, Sheik.

"Wow! How did you do that?!" He clamped a hand over his mouth, regretting that he had spoken so loudly. "Sorry." he mouthed.

He was in awe of the warrior's muscles, slender figure, use of weapons (needles in hand), and red eyes that could paralyze the enemy.

"Are you still Zelda?"

Sheik mused over this briefly. "In a sense. This is my alter ego, Sheik."

"So are you a boy or girl, really?" Ness questioned. Sheik sweatdropped. "I'm still a girl technically, despite my looks. Enough small talk, let's go find our target."

**-------------------------**

The beach appeared haunted in the glimmering reflection of the pale full moon. Sounds of crickets and cicadas amidst the cool, green grass and towering trees that bordered the shoreline added to the effect.

Ness shivered as he walked along with the Sheikah warrior.

"Man, it's really c-creepy out here." he stuttered.

"And to think, you were so eager to go after this guy." Sheik responded. Ness had noticed that she was a lot more sarcastic than Zelda.

"Sorry! It just feels like something's gonna jump out at us any second now..." He murmured.

"I highly doubt that," the Sheikah replied.

A dark silhouette by the shore caught their attention.

Ness leapt behind Sheik. "Look, Sheik! There's a body over there!"

Sheik drew needles into her hand. "I can see it just fine, thank you."

Slinking through the grass on all fours, staying low to the ground, Sheik approached the body slowly. Ness remained glued to his spot, ready to launch a PSI assault if necessary. Sheik dove towards the shadow, then withdrew her needles. The boy watched in confusion as Sheik reverted back to Zelda.

"Ness, Ness come here! This isn't Dark Link at all! No, I think he's just been pulled into this mess like the rest of us!" Ness ran over and confirmed it. Zelda placed a lock of his teal hair between her fingers. "I have no idea where he's from either, or who he is."

Ness pointed at a sheath on his belt. "Zelda, I think we've found our swordsman!"

"But why is he out here?" Zelda pondered. "Do you think someone tried to get rid of him?"

Ness also appeared confused. "I have no clue. Maybe it has something to do with what Pikachu told me at dinner..."

Zelda held onto his shoulders. "Tell me Ness, this could be vital!"

"He told me that this guy stopped fighting in the middle of their battle. He let Pikachu win! So... maybe he's not our enemy after all! I think he was really meant to be a fighter like us!"

Zelda mused this over. If he had stopped fighting in the match, he really hadn't meant to attack Pikachu, had he? So maybe he had a different target. Or maybe he was innocent.

_Innocent until proven guilty..._ she recalled.

"So... whaddya say?" Ness asked.

She reverted back into Sheik- muscle wise, Sheik was stronger then Zelda- and attempted to lift the warrior into her arms. Surprisingly it took little effort... despite being soaking wet, he was fairly light.

"He owes a pretty good explanation of everything that happened, and we're going to get it. We're taking him to the dorms."

**-----------------------------------------**

Ness called for Nurse Joy and they got the fighter warm, dry clothes (a simple white robe and black boxers) and a bed in the hospital wing of the third floor.

"Is he gonna be okay?" The psychic boy asked.

"Well, he's sleeping like a baby and his vital signs seem to be in check. Just give him a good night's rest and he should be active by tomorrow. Who is he?"

Ness scratched his head. "Um... we're not sure. We rescued him on the beach. Zelda and I were both drea- oof!" Zelda elbowed him in the stomach. "Errrr... I was sleepwalking on the beach, so Zelda came to get me, and we found him there."

Joy raised an eye brow at them curiously, then nodded. "Whatever you say... I won't question you further tonight." The nurse stepped out of the hospital wing and headed back to her room in a separate building. Once she had left, Zelda clung onto Ness's hands.

"Listen, Ness, if anyone finds out about what _really_ happened, the sworsman, you, and I are going to get in serious trouble. You can't even tell one person, understand?"

Ness nodded.

Zelda smiled sweetly and ruffled his dark hair.

"It was pretty neat to go on an adventure with someone foreign to Hyrule. I'll see you tomorrow, Ness. Sleep well."

"You too, princess!"

As she left the hospital wing, Ness glanced back at the swordsman. The thought of possibly having fifteen smashers was too thrilling for him. Like a piece of overly spicy food, you just wanted to spit it out. Okay, that sounded gross, but you get the picture.

Ness felt a mischievous smile crawl onto his face.

"She said not to tell ONE person, didn't she?"

((Oohhh... bad, bad Ness, lol!))

**--------------------------------------------------**

Sunlight penetrated through the blinds and made the newcomer's blue hair glisten like crystalline drops of water at the beach on a beautiful day, the personification of a peaceful morning. He smiled briefly in his sleep, snuggling deeper into his pillow. On the opposite side of the room, Link, Peach, Pikachu, Nana, Popo, and a very angry Zelda were still talking about what had happened the previous evening.

_Ness... you are dead when I see you again! Coward... he even 'pretended' to sleep in this morning!!!_

"Pi! Pika! Pika pikachu pi!" (Yeah! That's him! I fought against that same guy yesterday!) Pikachu chirped, pointing over at the bed.

Peach put her hands on her hips, and interrupted Zelda's surprisingly (audible gasp from author) _evil_ plotting to get back at Ness for spilling the secret to her friends.

"Zelda! Do you realize the danger you were in last night?!" she scolded.

Zelda took a deep breath and calmly replied, "Yes..."

"And you put Ness in danger too!!" she added.

"It's not my fault! It was Ness's idea!!" Zelda shot back.

Nana and Popo tugged at Peach's dress. "Hey, Peach..." the commented.

"Not now, sweeties." she said, gently trying to brush them off before turning back to Zelda. "Pikachu already experienced the danger firsthand-"

"Peach!" The Ice Climbers whined.

"Both of you, please- and you HAD to bring our biggest threat back to our suites!"

"He might just be a fighter like the rest of us and got confused! Innocent until proven guilty!" Zelda argued. Link nodded in agreement.

"That doesn't make up for the fact that-"

"PEACH!!!!!" The Ice Climbers exclaimed.

"WHAT??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Peach screamed.

The sound of moaning across the room caught everyone's attention, and they ran over to the bed of the swordsman. It was the first time the others had gotten a chance to actually see him.

"Okay," she said grinning at Zelda in agreement, "innocent until proven guilty."

He stirred and gave a soft whimper in his sleep one last time, before his eyes fluttered open softly like butterfly wings, giving them a glimpse of his eyes. They were a beautiful shade of cerulean. He stretched instinctively, before trying to sit up. Link sat on the edge of the bed to assist him, putting a hand behind his shoulder blade and his other hand opposite to it on his chest to help pull him up to a sitting position.

The new arrival faced the elf, eyes squinting from sunlight, but when his vision refocused, the first sight he saw was the infamous Hero of Time.

Confused, he looked around at all the foreign faces that surrounded him.

"Well, it seems he doesn't have any idea as to who we are, so he can't be here to kill us. If he were here to be an assassin, he would probably have a good idea as to who we are."

The swordsman gave Pikachu a look of confusion too.

"Hmm... you really have no idea where you are, do you?" Link asked.

The teal-haired swordsman looked back at the elf with more confusion.

"Ne? Boku wa doko desu ka?"

The princesses felt their hearts leap at the sound of his voice. It sounded like the gentle flow of a river, soft waves that delicately kissed the sandy beach, a quiet breeze that whispered the foretelling of the seasons, and chimes that played amongst the winds.

Peach clasped her hands together in joy. "Ooh! A foreigner! How exotic!" she squealed.

Zelda nodded with a grin on her face. "I'll say. He's definitely not speaking English or Hylian."

"Pikachu pika pika pi chu pi." (And I'll be damned if he's a Poke'mon.)

The young man looked even more lost than before.

"Gomen, demo... boku wa wakarimasen..."

Link smacked a hand against his forehead.

"Okay this is going nowhere," he muttered. Cue the lightbulb above the forehead. "Hey wait... that medicine cabinet... doesn't it have some kind of Translation Water? Nana, Popo, one of you see if you can find it!"

Nana raised her hand. "I got it, Link!" she ran over to the medicine cabinet and began moving around contents, careful not to break any jars, vials, or bottles.

_Link_.

The name froze the warrior. For some reason, it sounded familiar. He felt like long forgotten memories were trying to be revived.

"Rinku..." he pronounced slowly.

The Hero of Time placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. We're going to try to help you understand us."

Nana returned, carrying a bottle of what looked like ordinary water, save for the fact that it seemed to sparkle. "Here it is!" she cheered, leaping onto the foreigner's bed.

"Mizu desu ka?" he asked.

She smiled at him. "I hope you're thirsty!"

He didn't understand a word she said, but couldn't help smiling at her. "Kawaii!" he cooed.

She shoved the mouth of the bottle into his mouth and his eyes grew wide.

"Drink up!" she laughed. Everyone appeared horrified.

The liquid flooded into his mouth and down his throat against his will. Some splashed onto the bed and onto his clothes as he flailed, coughed and choked until the bottle was finally empty.

"Okay, whoa, Nana, I think he's had enough!!" Link shouted. Nana pulled it from his mouth as he continued coughing. Link clapped him on the back until his breathing returned to normal.

"Thanks," he said, looking at Link gratefully before glaring angrily at the girl. "HEY! What's the big idea?! Were you trying to kill me or-"

He clapped a hand over his mouth in surprise. Everyone in the room appeared excited.

"What's wrong with me?" he whispered in shock. "I'm speaking a foreign language fluently, and I've never heard it before."

Link smirked as several others began chatting about how excited they were that he could talk.

"Wow this translation stuff works fast! Tell me, what's my name?"

He gave the Hero of Time an odd look.

"I think my attempted murderer called you Link."

"Yes!" Link cried, shaking the confused teenager by the shoulders. "I've gone from being Rinku to Link!!"

"Then you can understand everything I say?" he gasped.

"Everything," The elf confirmed with a nod.

Upon hearing this, he lifted Nana onto his lap and apologized.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you,"

"And I'm sorry for choking you." Nana apologized. "Um, accidentally, I mean. Heehee... I'm Nana!"

She held out her pink-mitten clad hand to shake. He smiled and took her hand.

"I'm Marth, the Prince of Altea."

Nana beamed in pride. "Wow! I'm actually shaking hands with a real prince!" Everyone in the room laughed.

Marth blinked at her awkwardly, then nodded. "Yeah..."

She climbed off his lap and let him stretch out again.

"Mmmmph... how long was I asleep?"

Zelda glanced at the clock. "Hmm... about nine hours. I'm Zelda, by the way."

"I'm Popo."

"I'm Peach!!"

"Pikachu!"

Joy walked into the room at that moment. "Oh, you're awake!" she commented, gazing at the prince. "How do you feel? Can you stand?"

Placing Nana into Link's lap, he stood up, bent his knees and stretched more. Although he was wearing shorts, stretching made them rise up his thigh, giving everyone a "good show" of his slender, well-built, legs that were- simply put, downright sexy.

Link's face was as red as a beet as he shielded Nana's eyes. Pikachu covered Popo's eyes, and Peach and Zelda giggled like school girls. Joy looked away awkwardly, her face also pale red. She focused her vision at a spot of paint on the wall. "Yeah, I think you're better, there's a change of clothes in the closet for you, come out when you're done, we'll give you your privacy now, okay, bye!" she stammered rapidly, dragging everyone out of the room.

**-----------------------------------------**

Out in the hallway, everyone was chatting wildly about Prince Marth. By everyone, that obviously meant only Peach and Zelda.

"Wow, did you see his eyes?" Zelda asked.

"And his hair?" Peach chirped.

"And legs?"

"And what a voice!"

"Plus, he's a prince!!"

Peach was fanning herself off as she chatted with Zelda. "Damn, girl, I think I'm in LOVE!!"

Zelda perked up at the love thing and began laughing again, but not for her little crush on Prince Marth.

"You should have seen your face, Link!! You were the color of a strawberry!!"

Link ignored her, although his face was still faintly red.

"Pika... pika, chu, pika... pi, chu?" (Hey Link... you aren't, um, you know... gay, right?)

Link gave Pikachu a hard kick, sending him flying into Joy's arms with a scream.

"NO!!!!! FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I AM NOT GAY!!!!!" he yelled, blushing furiously. Marth stepped out of the room dressed in a pale blue tunic, pale blue pants, a white belt with a golden buckle and a silver sheath for his sword, and a white cape cleft with a red pin. For his final touch, he had put a small, thin tiara into his hair.

"Umm... did I miss something?" the prince asked softly, glancing around the room at a Pikachu with a huge bruise on his forehead, a furious elf the color of a cherry, and two princesses who had resumed swooning and giggling over him. Joy, who had been surprisingly calm throughout all this, said, "Here, I'll get you a room. If you're gonna stay at the Battle Royale Suites, you'll need a room!"

She led Marth downstairs two floors to the first floor, still cradling poor little Pikachu in her arms.

"Chuu... Pika..." (Ohh... my head...)

Joy got Pikachu a bandage, then handed Marth the box of numbers. She explained the lottery system to Marth as he stuck his hand in and pulled out a slip of paper.

"Number 12. You're heading back to the third floor. Your room is right next to Link's, and in addition to him, you're on the same floor as Captain Falcon."

She handed him his key without saying anything else.

Marth thanked her, gently patted Pikachu's head, then left for his room. He fingered the key in his hand as he walked up the steps.

_With a room next to Link, I don't feel so lost around here._

As he stepped onto the third floor, he encountered a man dressed in a green body suit and wearing a brown helmet.

"I don't think I've ever seen you around... are you new here?" he asked.

"Um... yes... I'll be boarding on the third floor too."

"Ah, you'll be joining Link and I, then!"

Marth appeared intrigued. "You're Captain Falcon then, I presume?"

"Yes... and you are?"

Marth smiled and shook hands with him. "Prince Marth, from the kingdom of Aritia."

The bounty hunter smiled and nodded briefly before continuing downstairs. "Sorry I can't talk much! I'm kinda late for breakfast!" he called over his shoulder.

"It's okay!" Marth replied.

He unlocked his room and stepped inside calmly.

"WHERE THE HELL AM I????" he cried.

Yes, our hero Marth was going to fit in just fine. He was on his way to becoming a smasher!

**---------------------------------**

**bijoukaiba: Okay, that's been taken care of! Now, to get started on Chapter 4!**


	4. The First Two Days

**Swordplay**

**bijoukaiba: Several reviewers had a little bit of confusion, so I thought before I enter into today's story, I would put in a recap of what happened previously.**

_**Recap:**_

_**One day, fifteen warriors (counting Nana) from different times, lands, and even planets were transported to the Battle Royale Suites, a hotel and a fighting center. The staff have also come from foreign locations and are there to serve and entertain the fighters. The most mysterious of the staff appear to be two brothers by the names of Master and Crazy, who seem to be the directors of the fighting. What the "smashers" don't realize is that they have an assassin waiting to fight in exchange for his freedom and the freedom of his loved ones. His assigned target? The Hero of Time, Link. After Link defeats Pikachu, he will fight against the Hylian. The next day, Link loses to the Poke'mon unexpectedly and Pikachu is sent in his place to fight the assassin instead. Misunderstanding his orders, he loses to the Poke'mon and his loved ones are killed. Crazy and Master decide to dispose of their failed assassin by erasing his memory and drowning him in the ocean. Out of pure luck, water Poke'mon decide to rescue him. Meanwhile, everyone is fearing for their safety from the attacker- although Pikachu explains how the swordsman stopped fighting him and may be an innocent fighter. Ness decides to seek him out with some help from Zelda and her other form, Sheik. Finding him on the beach, they return him to the hospital wing for medical attention. After awakening and being unable to understand everyone else, the attacker- memory now erased- is given Translation Water and finally can communicate amidst the other fighters. He is really Prince Marth from the kingdom of Altea, and is assigned a room on the third floor with Link and Captain Falcon. Now he joins the others as another official fighter!!**_

**(panting)**

**And that's how I tried to sum it up. Probably failed, too. Now that I've read my story, it kinda confused me as well. I'll try to keep things less complicated from now on. Like now, it's the summer... let's just kick back and have some fun!**

**As for our disclaimer... why not let our buddy Fox McCloud introduce us? That's your mission, sir!**

**Fox: Right! bijoukaiba doesn't own Nintendo, Super Smash Bros. Melee, or any of its related characters or games! MISSION COMPLETE!!**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 4:** **The First Two Days**

After a shout of confusion, Marth caught himself from his off-character state. Normally, he was a lot calmer than this, but the last thing he could remember was going into a market to buy a few apples for breakfast only to black out and reawaken in the Battle Royale Suites. He briefly looked around his room. Just like the other smashers, he had a wardrobe of his preferred clothes- tunics, pants, capes, boots, gloves, and even another tiara- this one was covered in rubies so it appeared pure red, and had a small sapphire for its centerpiece. His bed was covered in deep blue sheets that had golden emblems embroidered into the covers, and the window had sky blue curtains with a horizontal ripple of pale gray through them. His entire room was painted in a pale shade of turquoise. (((Actually, this sounds a lot like my room... except for the curtains.)))

There appeared to be a smaller room with ceramic tiles of teal blue. There was a larger platform that rose from the floor and had a silver faucet that leaned over a ceramic bowl. Beside it was a ceramic bowl that was closer to the floor and water in it. Marth noted a small silver switch and pressed down on it. With a loud roar that made the prince leap, the water got sucked into it, then began refilling again. Attached to the "platform" was a roll of white paper next to the roaring water bowl.

"Interesting... I wonder if this is the-"

A knock at the door startled him.

"Just a moment!" the prince called. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the green-clad elf he had met half an hour ago.

"Oh... um... Link! Did you want to see me?" he asked.

Zelda stepped from behind Link, wearing a white dress to match Marth's pale attire.

"We both did," she explained. "We had to learn about the technology present today so we thought we'd try to pass on our knowledge to you."

He smiled and held open the door. "Come on in, because I'm plenty confused."

First thing Marth did was lead them to his restroom. "This is supposed to be... well, the toilet, right?"

"Yes, that's correct," Zelda confirmed. "And that's a sink, used for simple washing... such as cleaning the hands or face." She pointed over at the large black box across from Marth's bed. "That's a television, but that's fairly complicated... we'll explain that later."

"Here, we'll show you around the rest of the building." Link said, gesturing to the doorway.

The Princess of Hyrule took the hand of the Prince of Altea and led him along on their tour.

**-----------------------------------------**

Their first stop was the cafeteria, where Mario and Peach were waiting.

"Marth! Over here!" she called to the Altean prince.

"Wait-a! Isn't this-a the same guy who tried-a to attack Pikachu?"

"What? I tried to attack him?" the prince asked.

Link nodded.

"I'm really sorry... I honestly don't remember..." Marth apologized.

"Mario, I'm pretty sure he was intended to be a fighter like us, but his memory was erased somehow after the fight with Pikachu. Joy even got him a room and everything." Link explained.

Mario scratched his chin as he stared at Marth.

"Well... I guess-a it's okay. You don't look-a like the type-a to attack the innocent-a." He turned and looked at Bowser across the room. "And trust-a me, I've seen-a the type. We'll just have to trust-a you for now."

Marth bowed slightly in a gesture of gratitude. A soft growling sound was heard. "Wow, I just got really hungry! And something smells great!" Marth clutched his stomach and laughed. "It almost feels like I haven't eaten in days!"

"Go get a few-a slices of pizza! It tastes really-a great around here-a!"

"Fantastic!" Marth agreed. "Wait, what's a pizza?"

Zelda and Link appeared puzzled.

"Maybe it's a fruit?" Zelda wondered.

Mario and Peach glanced at each other.

"We still have a lot to teach them about the present, don't we?"

Mario held up a triangular slice of bread that was covered in tomato sauce with several spices in it and was topped with melted mozzerella and cheddar cheeses, and sliced pepperoni and mushrooms.

"_This-a... _is a slice of-a pizza."

The aromas wafted to them and their mouths began watering.

"Pizza..." they murmured.

"Go on, all-a of you. Try a slice-a!"

Without any further bidding, they took a slice into their hands and bit into it.

"Ruby's good at cooking everything, isn't she?" Zelda commented.

"If I could have had anything to eat as my first meal here, I'm really glad I got pizza. Fate seems to be good to me!" Marth sighed happily after finishing the first bite. It was hard to restrain himself from wolfing down the pizza, but despite how hungry he was he had to remember his manners as a prince and ate slowly.

As fate would have it, Master and Crazy walked into the cafeteria. Apparently, Crazy wanted some soda and Master was feeling thirsty himself.

"And I want Pepsi, not Coca Cola!" Crazy demanded to his brother.

"Hold it." His brother ordered, freezing in his steps and halting his brother. "What's wrong with this picture?"

"Hmmm..." Crazy murmured, looking around the room at everyone enjoying their pizza. "We forgot to put Parmesan cheese at the tables?"

"Yes- what? No!" He pointed over at the blue-haired swordsman who was eating pizza and laughing with a few other people.

"Hey, he looks like that Marth person we were supposed to kill yesterd-"

His brother clapped a hand over his mouth. "It IS Marth!" Master hissed.

Marth looked up at them at the mention of his name. "Hey!" he said, smiling at them. "Come get some pizza!"

"Oh boy!" Crazy cheered. Master caught him by the ear. "You idiot! This is a trick!"

"But I want pizza..." Crazy complained.

Marth walked over to them. "Come on, you should go get some while it's hot!"

"Thanks!" Crazy grinned, following the prince to eat with Mario, Zelda, and Link.

Master stared at them. _What if... that drug we injected into his neck erased more than just his fight with Pikachu?_

He smirked and walked over with Crazy to their table.

"You look... familiar. Have we met before?" he asked innocently.

Marth shook his head. "Not that I know of," the prince replied calmly, wiping sauce from his lip with a paper napkin. "My name is Marth. Who are you?"

_This has really worked out in my favor, huh?_

"The name's Master and my brother with the white hair is Crazy. We are the directors of the fighting around here. You have been brought here to be a part of the Battle Royale Suites, a hotel and fighting center dedicated to the best fighters ever!"

"How exciting!" Marth commented. "That means I've been considered as one of them, right?"

Master nodded. "Why else would you be here, my prince?" _You idiot, of course that's why!!_

He suddenly turned more serious. "But there's something I need to tell you... I don't want it to spoil the rest of your day, so I'll tell you tonight."

Marth glanced worriedly at Zelda and Link.

"Don't worry," Zelda reassured. "It's probably something minor."

Link merely nodded.

Before Marth could ask anything from Master or Crazy, they had both disappeared.

"Wait, what's the time? Oh no, I forgot! Marth, Link, I'm sorry, but you two are on your own," Zelda commented, getting up from the pizza table.

"What?" Link and Marth asked simultaneously.

"Yesterday, I agreed to spend the afternoon with Samus and Peach." Zelda explained. "Sort of a 'girls only' deal. Link, you'll have to give him the rest of the tour yourself. Think of it as a 'swordsmen only' afternoon." She smiled cutely.

Before Link could say anything, she gave the two swordsmen a hug then went off with Peach to find Samus. "Thanks!" she shouted behind her.

Link glanced over at the newcomer, who merely smiled.

"So... we're the only two swordsmen here? That's interesting."

Link shrugged, then considered something. Because there was no fighting over the weekend, Master and Crazy permitted the fighters to use the arenas as common rooms for socializing. At that moment, he spotted Fox passing by.

"Excuse me, Fox!" He called.

"Yeah?" The pilot asked.

"Where did you last see Ness?"

"I think he went to Onett to eat his pizza."

As Marth finished eating what was now his fifth slice of pizza, Link stood up from the table. "Ness? What's a Ness?" the prince asked.

"Come on," he commented, gently grabbing Marth's arm and tugging him to his feet. "I think you'll want to meet the person actually responsible for your rescue."

**-------------------------------------------------**

Marth gasped in awe of the scenery around him. An asphalt road ran through the middle of the arena, and across the street a few flowers were growing alongside a baseball field. There was a blue house, a yellow house with a tall tree growing behind it, a drug store with several floors, and another blue house with a clothes line. everything else was blue skies and beautiful mountains on the horizon.

"I never would have guessed... the Onett Kingdom is so beautiful..."

Link chuckled softly. Good thing Ness would be here to clarify several things. At that moment, a loud and sharp horn could be heard. Uh-oh. A large black van had come from a tunnel on a far side of the town and was now speeding towards them.

"Link! What kind of black creature is that?"

The elf glanced at the prince awkwardly. "Hey Marth... don't try to mess with it. It's a car, you can't-"

"A car? Doesn't sound that dangerous... I'll handle it." He smoothly walked past Link, whipping out a blade from his sheath. The sword appeared fairly thin, slimmest at the tip, and appeared double edged. The rain-guard (((I'm using wikipedia vocabulary!!))) held a red stone, and the cross-guard was curved. The pommel stone was an emerald, and the entire hilt appeared to be made of gold. Grasping the grip of his sword, his body began to glow blue and purple as energy began flowing into his blade.

"Marth... don't do it. You don't know what cars are capable of!"

"TRUST ME LINK!!!" Marth shouted dramatically

As the van zoomed toward Marth, Link felt a surge of adrenaline and dove at the prince, shoving him out of the way. The car continued speeding down the road. It makes you wonder if some people will ever get counseling for road rage.

Link looked down at Marth who had fallen between him and the drug store. The author sighed as she imagined a bishounen and building sandwich, with Link and the drug store as bread and Marth as the turkey, condiments, and at least three kinds of cheese in the middle. You can tell the author is hungry, can't you?

"Are you... all right?"

Marth glanced up at Link as they separated.

"Yeah, no harm done."

A smaller and softer voice was heard chuckling. "Yeah, you have to watch out for cars here. They might not look very big, but they're made of very heavy metal and hold all sorts of stuff like chairs and cup holders." he explained.

He adjusted his cap and floated down in front of Marth. "Hey, you're the guy I rescued last night!!"

"I take it, then, you must be Ness. I'm Marth, Prince of Aritia."

Marth seemed to hesitate after making the statement, before returning to a normal state as he shook hands.

"Whoa, cars coming, better get on the roof!!" Ness cried. He floated in a backflip motion onto the clothesline, Link leapt in a sideways backflip onto the roof, and Marth followed with a standard backflip. They watched a yellow taxi go flying down the road in the spot they had been standing.

"Well, it appears you need a lesson about the present, don't you?" the psychic boy asked, pausing to flick away a few bangs falling into his face. "I guess this would be a good time to continue with your lessons too, Link."

Ness first reviewed with Link his explanations from the previous day, giving Marth a chance to ask some questions and "catch up" on the younger boy's lessons. Marth was amazed by the vivid descriptions of TVs, computers, video games, and microwaves. He was especially impressed by lightbulbs- "longer lasting than candles, fueled by electricity, and providing much more light. No matches, spells, or flint and tinder necessary!". Right after Ness finished explaining CDs and music, Link realized they had been sitting there for well over an hour and a half, then remembered the rest of the mansion.

"Hey, Ness, I need to go. There's still a few parts of the grounds that Marth hasn't seen yet."

Ness paused with his mouth open, ready to speak, then sighed. "Okay..." He smiled. "It was nice to meet you, Marth! Maybe the three of us can sit together at dinner!"

"Sure," Marth agreed, before walking off with Link.

As they left the fighting arena, the Hylian began a different conversation with Marth.

"So, what's been bothering you?"

Marth perked up curiously. "What? Nothing's been bothering me..."

"Everytime you introduce yourself, you've been acting really hesitantly. Maybe it's none of my business, but..." he trailed off as they stepped into the elevators.

"..." Marth looked at the ground silently.

"... You're not really a prince, are you?" Link guessed, keeping his voice soft and low so he wouldn't sound accusing.

"I am," Marth said, then sighed. "Well, I was. I was exiled after the kingdom of Dolua took over Altea. It's okay, neither you nor anyone else knew. I was only going to tell them if they asked."

Link wanted to say something, but at that moment, the elevator reached the bottom floor and they returned to the cafeteria without a word. Everyone had cleared out except for a young brunette and a monkey by a bar. Sitting at the bar was a man with spiky pink hair.

"Here's the karaoke bar, you can get things to drink here. Malon, one of my friends, works here with Diddy Kong." The simion and the girl waved over to the prince and the elf. "Come on, want a drink?"

"Sure, as long as it's a small one."

"Hello Link, what's- Wow! I don't remember seeing you!" She gasped.

With an elegant sweep of his cape, Marth bowed to Malon. "I am Marth Lowell, from the kingdom of Aritia. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Malon."

A moan was heard from the spiky-haired man sitting at the bar.

"Spike..." Diddy complained, rolling his eyes. "Will you brighten up? We have a new guest!"

Spike looked up at Marth, lowered his glasses and merely said, "Hey,"

"Anything wrong, Spike?" Link asked. When the dancer shook his head, the Hylian decided to leave him be.

"Can I get you guys anything?" Malon offered.

"I got just the thing!" Diddy offered. First he poured authentic Lon-Lon Milk into a blender, then added tri-colored sherbet in colors of pink, white, and orange. Finally, he put in a few slices of banana, strawberries, and sliced peaches before turning on the blender. Link and Marth were startled by the whirring, but after a few seconds, Diddy was pouring a brightly colored, pinkish-orange, frothy mixture into two tall glasses.

"Voila! Two Jungle Japes fruit smoothies for Link and the new guy!"

"Marth," the prince corrected.

"For Link and Marth!" Diddy repeated as he placed a white straw into each beverage and put them in front of each swordsman.

Marth put the straw to his mouth and was amazed at how sweet, creamy, and fruity the flavor was.

"Diddy, this is delicious! What did you put in it?"

Diddy tugged at his hat modestly, before explaining, "First we use genuine Lon-Lon Milk-"

"That's what makes it taste so creamy," Link commented to Marth as he took a sip of his smoothie.

"- then we use rainbow sherbet, which has the flavors of raspberry, pineapple, and orange. Then we just mix in some banana, strawberries, and peaches, and we have an artistic paradise for the mouth!"

"I don't know what you said, but I'll take your word for it!" Link laughed.

The duo had been enjoying their smoothies so much that they remained silent until they finished their treats.

**-------------------------------------------**

Eventually, Link was able to lead Marth throughout the mansion to the various floors and their features. As expected, Marth had appeared surprised about sharing a shower room with other guys, and was awestruck by the beautiful view from the balcony on the fifth floor. At last, they returned downstairs for grilled salmon, Caesar salad, white rice, and iced tea, water, or lemonade as their dinner. As Marth and Link figured, Ness was saving seats for them. Kirby was also sitting at their table.

"Hey! Hey! Marth, Link, we saved you seats!" Ness chirped, waving a hand high in the air. Everyone- minus the ones who had already met him- in the dining room gasped and turned around, staring at the blue-haired swordsman.

"I thought he was the deadly assassin?" Bowser asked

"Yoshi arara hup?" (Then what's he doing here?)

"Guys, relax..." Link reassured. Marth had stepped behind Link, trying to hide after the negative welcome. "The whole assassination thing was a mistake. Marth wasn't sent to kill Pikachu, he was supposed to be a fighter like us!"

Pikachu bounded over from his table, leapt onto Marth's head, and stood up defensively.

"Chu! Kachu pika chu ka pichu ka pikapi chuka pi pi! Cha pika chu pi pikachu!"(Yeah! He stopped fighting in our battle when he saw me getting beat up! He doesn't want to hurt anyone!)

"Does-a he look dangerous-a to you?" Mario asked.

"Not to mention, he's very sweet..." Zelda added.

"It's okay if they don't trust me," Marth commented softly. Shouts of "I trust you!" from Ness and Captain Falcon made him smile briefly. "but I swear I'm not going to hurt any of you."

The cafeteria was silent, until Samus spoke.

"Well? You must be hungry. Why don't you get some food, Marth?"

The Aritian and Hylian exchanged a grin.

"Don't mind if I do!" he cheered. Everyone laughed.

Marth stepped in the cafeteria line right behind Fox. The vulpine had reached for the iced beverage, when he noticed the newcomer behind him.

"Hey, do you like tea?" he asked. Marth shrugged and nodded. "Take mine." Fox passed the tea to him and reached for lemonade instead.

"Thanks!"

Marth couldn't stop smiling as he sat down with the Pop-Star warrior and the PSI-gifted boy. He had expected a much more hostile greeting, but he had already met more than half of the smashers and things went more smoothly than he had hoped. He enjoyed dinner pleasantly, getting greeted by Fox once more, then Samus, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and even Bowser had muttered a hello under his breath. He had been having so much fun, he nearly forgot to speak with Master and Crazy after dinner.

"I'll catch up with you guys later, okay? Master and Crazy wanted to tell me something. I wonder why they have those names? Bye!" Marth had already become a lot more social.

Zelda smiled as she watched him walk off.

"I'm glad he's so happy... everyone seems to like him too! If it wasn't for Link, he might have never warmed up to anyone. But if it wasn't for Pikachu, we wouldn't have gotten to meet him at all, either! I don't know if he'll ever be any happier..."

"Zelda!" Donkey Kong ambled over. "Hey, they've got Oreos and milk, you should get some before they're gone!"

She glanced back in the direction Marth had walked off in, before following DK for some cookies.

**---------------------------------**

After a stroll along the shoreline with Zelda, Fox, Donkey Kong, and the Ice Climbers, Link decided to retire to his room. "Good night to you too, you guys," Link spoke softly as he walked down the hall to his bedroom. As he turned his key in the lock, he heard a soft noise nearby. It sounded like sobbing. And it was coming from Marth's room.

Silently, Link slowly approached the door and pressed an ear to it. Sure enough, the crying was coming from Marth's room. He had seemed so happy earlier... why was he so upset now? Then Link recalled what Master had said earlier about a serious discussion with Marth.

_What should I do? It's none of my business to pry. Maybe I should leave him alone. And yet... maybe I should say something. He can't sit in his sorrow all night._

Link reached for the doorknob, then drew back. It was like fighting against his own conscience. He gently placed his handle over the knob and slightly turned it. The door was still unlocked. Glancing down at the Triforce of Courage on his right hand, he took a deep breath and cautiously entered the room. Marth was sitting on the bed, hunched over as he sobbed softly, his arms wrapped around his legs and his chin tucked just above his knees.

"Marth?" Link asked softly. The prince stopped between sobs and glanced up at the elf standing in the doorway with tear-filled cerulean eyes. "Are you okay?"

_It was probably a bad idea to talk to him... their conversation was private and it's supposed to stay that way._

"No..." Marth softly replied. "Master just told me very regrettable news."

Link sat down on the edge of the bed, sympathizing with the new swordsman. Much to Link's surprise, Marth explained what Master told him.

"My sister, Ellis, and a close friend of mine, Sheida, were supposed to be coming to the Battle Royale Suites... Sheida was probably going to be a fighter and my sister was probably going to get a job working here." Marth paused briefly, trying to regain his composure before continuing his story. "... They got into an accident on their way here... and they were both killed."

Link looked down at the floor sadly. "I'm sorry..." He gently began rubbing the prince's back when an idea came to his mind. "Tell you what. If you'd like, we'll hold a mini funeral for them tomorrow morning. We'll invite the others along, bring flowers, say a few words..."

Marth smiled briefly. "I appreciate your suggestion, Link, but I'd like to keep this as private as possible. I'd only like you, Zelda, and Ness to go."

He patted the prince on the shoulder then left the room, saying, "There's a very rare flower that grows in Hyrule, and Zelda has some in her room. I think I'll ask her to bring some of those for the service."

"Hey, Link?"

The elf paused in the doorway, then turned around. "Yeah?"

Marth wiped away a few more tears that had fallen down his flushed face, but this time he smiled at Link.

"Thank you."

**--------------------------------------**

The next morning, prior to breakfast, Link, Marth, Ness, and Zelda had come to the Fountain of Dreams arena for their funeral. After the crying he had done the previous night, Marth had an easier time holding back his tears. Even though the other three had never met Sheida and Ellis, they still tried their best to compliment them, saying how much Sheida's friendship must have meant to Marth, or what a great sister Ellis was.

Although there were a few other people already in the cafeteria when the funeral had ended, none of them were suspicious as to why Marth's face was a little flushed, or why Link and Ness appeared better dressed than usual.

Link and Marth sat down at a table together, with French toast, sliced strawberries, and Lon-Lon Milk on their trays. Ness was invited to sit with Mario and Fox, and Zelda sat with Samus, Donkey Kong, and even Bowser.

"So," Link commented, "Would you like to do anything after breakfast?"

"Sure! I'm just not sure what..." At that moment, Captain Falcon walked over behind Marth.

"I didn't mean to overhear," he commented, "but a few of us are going to play some baseball after breakfast. Care to join us? I'll explain the rules to you, if you're interested."

The swordsmen nodded and the racer sat down and explained the world of baseball.

**---------------------------------**

Everyone drew straws to decide who would be captains in baseball. As there were sixteen fighters, the teams would now hold an even eight. That's why the author refrained from any team sports prior to Marth's arrival.

Yoshi and Mario had won the draw, so they were named as captains.

"Yoshi hup oshi!" (I'll take Donkey Kong!)

"I want-a Peach!"

"Yoshi!" (Bowser!)

_Whew! He took Bowser! _"Hmm... I want-a Samus!"

"Oshi hur hup!" (Captain Falcon!)

"Dang it," Falcon muttered. Lol, the author knows why.

"Link-a!"

"Oshi!" (Zelda!)

"I pick-a Marth!"

"Hup!" (Fox!)

"Come on-a over, Ness!"

"Arara, Yoshi hup!" (I choose you, Pikachu!)

"Then I'll-a take Popo!"

"Hur hup!" (Kirby!)

"Nana!"

At that point, Master and Crazy had stepped outside. "Baseball, huh?" Master mused. "That sounds like fun..."

"ARA YOSHI!" (DIBS ON MASTER!)

"Drat-a..." Mario muttered as Crazy walked (and twitched) over to him.

Both of the teams, the "Mario Heroes" and the "Yoshi Dinosaurs" (Bowser, Captain Falcon, and Zelda weren't too hot on the name "Yoshi Eggheads") huddled with their fellow players.

"All-a right. I'll-a be the pitcher. I'm good-a at throwing fastballs-a," Mario planned, "Crazy, you can-a be in centerfield. Popo, you'll-a be in left-a field, and Nana will-a be in right-a field. Fitting, isn't it? Peach, you'll-a be catcher..."

"Perfect!" she agreed.

"Samus-a, you'll be on-a first base. Ness, you're-a going to be on-a second. Link, you'll-a play on third-a base, and Marth, you'll be our-a shortstop."

Taking their positions out on the field, Kirby was the first one to bat. Sure enough, Mario managed to strike him out quickly.

"Wow, he really does have a good arm!" Nana exclaimed.

Next up was Master. He demonstrated threatening batting power, but a fly ball sent halfway into centerfield proved easy to catch for Crazy. He laughed as his older brother dropped the bat angrily and marched off to sit in the grass.

Finally, Captain Falcon was sent to bat. He earned a strike and a ball before finally hitting a powerful shot into rightfield. Still being so little, Nana had to throw the ball, run over to pick it up, then throw it again, only to have it sail a short distance. Giving up, she picked it up and began running towards the base.

Falcon smiled, running up to Samus's base.

"How was that?" He asked, as he merely walked the final steps to first base.

"Yeah," she commented. "impressive hit, Falcon."

He flexed his muscles briefly and added, "Have you ever played baseball? You appear to be pretty strong, you'll probably be a good batter... but take caution, I'm going to be pitcher!"

"Really?" Samus asked, smiling cutely. "I'm sure you'll get to see how well I bat in the next... few seconds."

"Few seconds?" At that moment, Falcon felt something hard nudge him gently in the hip.

"You're out!" Nana commented.

"What?" He looked down. Sure enough, he had never stepped onto first base.

"I got him out, I got him out!" Nana giggled in delight.

Samus took the ball from Nana and handed it to Falcon. "Show me _your _moves, Captain."

He shook his head and stepped over to the pitcher's mound. Bowser, walking past him to second, was furious.

"HOW COULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN?! YOU WERE INCHES- NO, CENTIMETERS AWAY FROM A BASE HIT!!!!" He roared in the racer's face.

"Aren't you over-reacting? It's just a game. Look, I'm sorry. I guess I got a little-" he glanced over at Samus, sitting patiently in the grass, awaiting for her turn to bat. Nana was chatting excitedly with Popo about her 'big play'. "- a little... distracted, that's all. Besides, look how happy Nana is!"

"Well, I don't care if she's happy or not, I just want to win! Next time, don't let cute little kids or sexy ladies distract you!" He muttered. "Mammals... GRR!!!"

Captain Falcon ignored the overgrown turtle and threw a curve-ball to the first batter, Mario. "Strike!" Zelda called, tossing the ball back to him.

Next, Falcon tried throwing a fast pitch. Mario whacked the ball into centerfield, where Yoshi picked it up and tossed it to Pikachu on first, right before the plumber could curve to second.

_Oh no, not her! _Falcon thought internally as Samus stepped up to bat. _No distractions, no distractions..._

He threw a pitch to Samus, and she whacked it over everyone's heads.

"It's a home-a run!!" Mario cheered. Mario and Samus ran the bases then high-fived several of their team mates.

Popo went next to bat and was quickly struck out. The same thing happened to Nana, although Falcon felt pretty guilty about it. Ness managed to hit a triple, and Peach's sacrifice fly was enough to get a third run for Mario's Heroes before the exchange.

Five innings passed and only a few more runs had been scored. Bowser had hit a home run, Fox earned a double, and Zelda gave them an RBI. Captain Falcon redeemed himself with a triple. With surprising power, Pikachu hit a home run as well.

Link had watched it sail out of the field and commented, "He really is much stronger than he looks,"

Mario's team hadn't scored since the first inning, but the unfamiliar players had improved. After a strikeout in the third, Link swatted a base hit into centerfield. Marth had nearly hit a home run in the fourth, but a strong leap from Yoshi allowed the dinosaur to catch the ball.

At last the fated ninth inning had come, and Yoshi's team was up 6-4. There was one out, Marth was on third, Link was on first, and Crazy had come up to bat. After a lot of insults from Bowser and general weariness, Captain Falcon and Yoshi decided to switch spots as pitcher and centerfield. Just as the ball came hurtling toward Crazy, Marth decided to take a chance and surprise everyone- especially Yoshi. He attempted to steal home. As fate would have it, Crazy earned a strike, Zelda dropped the ball, and Marth tripped but went sliding straight into homeplate. Mario and Peach were screaming in joy.

"Six to five, no pressure," Marth said to Crazy as he brushed some dust off his black tunic.

Crazy earned another strike, but the Yoshi's aim was off on the third pitch and hit Crazy in the left hand. He collapsed on the ground.

"OOOOWWWW!!!! MY HAND!!!!" He screamed. He was writhing around madly in the dirt. Anyone would think he'd be rolling in pain if it hit him in the chest, head, or groin- but this was only from his hand.

"It's a walk," Zelda sighed.

Crazy dragged himself on the ground with his right arm, crawling towards first while Link stared at him awkwardly as he jogged to second.

"FAKER!" Bowser yelled from second base. "It only hit your hand! It's not like your whole life depends on your left hand, does it? QUIT BEING SO OVERDRAMATIC!!"

"Pfft. Fine," Crazy muttered, as he stood up and limped to first.

Mario stepped up to bat and faced his friend for twenty years. He felt sweat forming in his gloves. This game would change his life forever. Well, not really. But it adds to the excitement.

Yoshi threw the ball to home plate...

And then, without much elaboration, Mario hits a home run, he earns three RBIs, yadda yadda, then after they exchanged positions, Yoshi's team strikes out and Mario's team wins the game. Go figure. Sorry for the lack of detail, but hey- you knew it was coming!

"And to think, bijoukaiba didn't even let me bat once," Donkey Kong sighed.

**-----------------------------------------**

For lunch, the smashers dined on gourmet sushi. Those too chicken to try were given salad. Poor fools didn't know what they were missing.

A few board games later, the time came to announce what the matches for the next day were.

"Due to the uneven number of smashers, one person will have a 'free day' tomorrow. We randomly select that person, and their name will show up on screen. So first, we'll show you who gets the day off,"

After a few moments of watching names flickering at high speeds on the screen, it finally stopped and displayed: **Link**

Link appeared surprised. "Well, I suppose it had to be one of us... I'm just not sure what to do tomorrow..."

The rest of the match-ups, stages and times displayed on screen.

_**Termina: 10:00 am**_

_Zelda vs. Samus_

_**Corneria: 10:45 am**_

_Pikachu vs. Mario_

_**Fountain of Dreams: 11:30 am**_

_Marth vs. Ice Climbers_

_**Jungle Japes: 1:30 pm**_

_Peach vs. Kirby_

_**Yoshi's Island: 2:15 pm**_

_Donkey Kong vs. Captain Falcon_

_**Poke'mon Stadium: 3:00 pm**_

_Yoshi vs. Bowser_

_**Princess Peach's Castle: 4:00 pm**_

_Ness vs. Fox_

"Well then," Joy commented as the names finally disappeared from the screen. "Any questions?"

There were no replies.

"Very well then. We're having lasagna for dinner, I hope you'll enjoy it!"

The nurse stacked up some paperwork and went off to run an errand elsewhere.

Marth glanced over at Popo and Nana.

_I wonder how they'll fight? I don't intend to underestimate them, but they seem so much younger than me..._

"Hey Marth, do you want dinner or not?" Samus teased.

"Coming!" Marth answered. Several of the smashers chuckled.

Yet they were wondering... what kind of swordsman would Marth turn out to be, anyway?

The answer... would come tomorrow. All they could do now was wait...

**-------------------------------------**

**bijoukaiba: ... for the next chapter. Sorry I've been dead! I've been on vacation for almost a month, and my brother's a computer hog. I'm going out for about a week, and school starts soon, so it may be harder for me to update.**

**I still hope you'll enjoy Swordplay!**


	5. Fifteen Smashers, Seven Matches

Swordplay

**bijoukaiba: I'm dreading the countdown until school starts... so I'm going to TRY to update this as much as possible before...**

**DUN-DUN DA-DA-DUN-DUN!**

**bijoukaiba: Oh noes!**

**(alarm clock goes off at 5:20 am)**

**bijoukaiba: GWAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!- Hey, I get new teachers this year! Cool! Oops, I mean- GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!**

**Kirby: Ugh, will someone PLEASE shut her up! It's 5 in the morning!**

**(voice): You're ruining my beauty sleep!**

**bijoukaiba: Marth, is that you? Or is it just Peach...**

**(voice): This is Bowser, DAMNIT! Are you going to update or what?!**

**bijoukaiba: Yeah, yeah... whatever...**

**Kirby: (yawns) bijoukaiba doesn't own Nintendo, SSBM, or any of its characters... zzzzzzz...**

**bijoukaiba: And I also don't own any brands of cereal.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 5: Fifteen Smashers, Seven Matches**

At last, breakfast arrived for the fifteen- count em, FIFTEEN- smashers. Today was Marth's official day as a fighter. Ruby had gotten ill overnight, so Malon and Alice had taken up the duty of making breakfast, so Joy could look to Ruby in the workers' quarters, while Diddy and Spike continued to work their usual positions.

Because the smashers' fabulous chef had fallen ill, breakfast was very simple- cereal and Lon-Lon Milk or oatmeal with a glass of fruit juice.

"THIS IS SO ANNOYING!!" Bowser roared as he poured Lon-Lon Milk into his bowl of Lucky Charms. "I WANT MEAT FOR BREAKFAST!! NOT LEPRECHAUN CEREAL!!"

"They're called Lucky Charms, _Bowser_," Fox muttered as he took his bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and went to sit with Zelda.

Link was sitting alone at a table with a bowl of Rice Krispies and a glass of orange juice in front of him.

Marth approached him quietly, dressed in his green battle garb, carrying a bowl of cereal.

"The talking tiger from TV was right! These taste grrrreat!!" He laughed, trying to start a conversation.

"My cereal has three lame excuses for elves on the front of the box, but I still like the crackling sound it makes."

"... If you're worried about being bored today, I'm sure Master and Crazy can figure something out for you to do. Maybe you can try out that karaoke thing Spike talked about..."

Link was about to comment, but at that moment, Master had stepped up to the microphone at the karaoke bar and cleared his throat.

"OH MY GOD, HE'S GONNA SING!!!" Bowser screamed. "SHIELD YOUR EARS, EVERYONE!!!"

Master glared at Bowser while his brother had collapsed on the wooden stage, curled up in a ball and rolling with laughter. Even Marth, Ness, and Fox had to try to hide a smile. Bowser might have been a jerk, but sometimes he could have pretty funny insults.

"Ahem," Master said, giving a final leer at Bowser. "I have a few announcements to make. First, we will be introducing a new, single player mode of fighting soon. Soon, as in tomorrow!"

A few of the smashers gasped and began chatting in excitement. Master quieted them down, then continued speaking.

"My brother and I have created two different modes of fighting. The first one, which we call "Classic Mode", will track the adventures of one smasher at a time, going through three fights against a single random opponent, a two-on-two team battle, a trio of fighters against a giant version of a fellow smasher, a fight against a metallic opponent, a fight against several weakened clones of a particular fighter, then three bonus rounds in special virtual arenas- one that involves breaking targets, one that requires collection skills, and one that requires racing speeds. At the end, you'll have a surprise fight..."

"What is it? What is it?" Kirby asked in excitement, floating up and down in his seat. In all his ecstacy, he had puffed up.

Master chuckled. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise!"

"Will we be able to access these "special stages" as fighting arenas?" Peach asked.

Crazy shook his head, stepping up to the microphone.

"Nope. Sorry, toots. Each arena is uniquely designed based on each smasher's fighting style, and is a virtual environment. There is no way to properly access each stage for fighting. For example, Kirby couldn't fight against Mario in Fox's target test. In addition, the Ice Climbers couldn't try to complete the target test designed for Link."

Master ripped the microphone from his brother.

"Very well then, next is the Adventure Mode," he explained. "This mode will also contain special virtual arenas. Some require traveling across landscapes to fight against teams of fighters, whereas others will require a regular fight against a regular opponent or opponents in a regular arena. A few arenas will also feature special fighters. It's very long and tiring, but it also proves to be enjoyable and- well, an adventure!"

Crazy snatched the microphone back.

"Both modes share some common rules. First of all, like in our regular melee fights, YOU CANNOT BE INJURED." He practically shouted the last part, so many of the smashers were holding their ears in pain. "Second, you can set the degree of difficulty for the game. There are five levels- Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard. The level of difficulty determines if your opponents will go easy on you or unleash hell upon you, or how much damage it takes for you to be KO'ed. Sometimes you can unlock even more surprises if you challenge yourself enough. Third, you can set a stock level for your fights. You can choose between one to five chances to win the challenge. In addition, victories and losses in Classic or Adventure will not count towards your individual versus records. There is also a limit on the number of the challenges held per day; there can only be two Classic challenges or one Adventure per day, and if only one Classic match is held, there will be four versus matches held prior to it. And finally, all of your completed challenges will earn bonus points, based on how you KO your opponents or how quickly you finish. Try to earn the highest score!"

Everyone was chatting wildly about these new levels.

"Classic and Adventure Mode will begin tomorrow, sign-up will start tonight!" Master and Crazy announced simultaneously.

"Yoshi ararara hup!" (This is gonna be so cool!)

"Hah, I'm gonna get the highest score, ya wimpy losers!"

"We'll see about-a that, you overgrown-a turtle."

Master and Crazy left the wooden stage silently, looking fairly pleased that everyone seemed excited about the new options in fighting.

Zelda wiped her mouth with a napkin, before turning to the pilot sitting beside her. "What do you think, Fox?"

Startled by Zelda's comment, he clutched at his neck, choking on a Cheerio caught in his throat. Quickly taking a sip of his coffee, he cleared his throat and replied, "It doesn't sound _too_ exciting, but it would make for a nice variety from all the usual matches we've been having."

Zelda appeared surprised. "You mean-"

"Yeah. It doesn't really appeal to me."

"You mean you're not thrilled?" Donkey Kong asked, taking a seat across from Zelda. "I'll probably be thinking about it all day!"

"Don't let it distract you from your match," Zelda warned. "Remember, we won't know anything until tomorrow."

**------------------------------------**

Ten o'clock finally rolled around the corner, and Zelda and Samus were stepping into the elevator, heading for the Termina arena. Samus was clad in pink armor, and Zelda was dressed in her recently washed blue dress, the same one she wore when she had arrived in the suites.

"Good luck, Zelda!" Link, Fox, and Donkey Kong chorused as Hyrule's princess smiled.

"You won't need luck, Samus!" Captain Falcon cheered.

"Ka chu!" (That's right!)

Samus gave a small wave of her hand as the doors closed. Several chairs had been pulled into the lobby/common room for watching the matches, and already the younger ones and a few others had taken a seat, watching the match. Zelda had landed on the main deck of the bay, constructed of sturdy steel; Samus had landed on a small island with one or two trees that was actually on the back of a gigantic turtle.

Samus made a confident pose with her barrel cannon before firing a missile at Zelda. Casting her Nayru's Love spell, the princess reflected the projectile back at its launcher. It successfully struck Samus, scoring 6 damage.

"Samus will need to watch for that spell," Fox commented with a grin to Nana. "Trust me, I would know."

A Poke'ball landed on a small, flat bouy floating on the other side of the stage. Both Samus and Zelda made a dash for it, but Zelda obviously got there first. Leaping back onto the main deck, she threw it at Samus and successfully hit her. Out popped a large, blue turtle Poke'mon that appeared to have two guns sticking out of its back.

"Blastoise!" It shouted, and began firing heavy pumps of water at the bounty huntress. At every blast of water, she took 8 damage and was shot back powerfully. She managed to leap out of the way at one point, only to be shot back again. By this point, Samus had now taken a total of 82 damage. But she wasn't down yet! Samus charged up a ball of energy while Zelda fired Din's Fire at her. Samus rolled out of the way, finished charging, then shot the orb at Zelda for a massive 36. She leapt forward and struck Zelda across the face with the cannon on her arm, bringing her percent up to 47, then earned a swat of magic in her own face.

She tucked into a small ball and dropped several bombs, raising Zelda's percentage to 63. The princess ran for safety, only to realize that the turtle had ducked underwater long ago. As Samus stepped ominously over the metal deck towards the elf, she grabbed the nearest weapon and hoped for the best.

Wielding a giant sledgehammer, Zelda felt her energy surge and began seeing red. She leapt onto the deck and began swinging the hammer madly, chasing after Samus. One heavy blow from the hammer brought Samus's damage up to 102. After the next swing of the hammer, the bounty huntress was sent hurtling out of the arena.

"Game!" Master shouted. "This game's winner is... ZELDA!!"

The princess clasped her hands together and closed her eyes softly as if she were praying, then raised her head happily in triumph.

Link, Fox, Marth, and Donkey Kong were cheering, before all of them leered at Bowser, who had commented, "There's gonna be a big cat fight when they get out of that elevator..."

Samus (with her helmet off) and Zelda were shaking hands and smiling at each other, complimenting on the other's unique fighting style.

"That's Zelda," Link commented to Bowser, a smirk on the Hylian's face. "as a princess, she's naturally polite and friendly. It's impossible to hate someone like her!"

**-----------------------------------------**

The next match nobody really paid attention to, because it lasted for such a short while. Apparently, red is the color of death because the Arwings in Corneria hammered Mario to death with their shots. All it took was a powerful shock from Pikachu to knock the famous plumber over the nose of the Great Fox and directly onto its guns positioned in front of the ship. Mario had tried several times to leap back to the body of the ship, but couldn't manage to actually grip onto the nose and climb up. After trying a few more times, the ship had spontaneously fired its guns and blasted Mario off the side of the stage. Pikachu had barely been touched the entire fight.

For his victory pose, Pikachu leapt up and performed two backflips, then spinning around on his two hind legs once he landed on the ground.

"Pika pika!" (Guns are my friends!) the electric mouse cheered.

Several smashers were still laughing after the witty comments from the Poke'mon.

Only Peach, Ness, and Yoshi sympathized with the plumber, telling him to ignore the laughter. Mario shrugged and grinned.

"You gotta admit-a... in both of-a Pikachu's fights-a, guns did-a help him win-a!"

Master finally controlled his laughter, then speaking loudly above the roaring laughter of Bowser (He was the only one still laughing. Naturally.) he announced, "Okay, Marth and the Ice Climbers, remember to arrive here in forty-five minutes for your next match."

_I wish I didn't have to use that name anymore..._

"Kirby, what does the Fountain of Dreams look like?" Popo asked.

"Sounds gay to me," Bowser muttered.

"Oh, it's really pretty- the water's very sparkly and there's bright colors everywhere, especially at night!" Kirby chirped.

"It sounds very romantic," Zelda commented. Upon hearing this, Link blushed as Zelda winked at him. Popo and Ness appeared disgusted.

_The Fountain of Dreams..._ Marth pondered, _just like when I met Link, it sounds familiar too, yet I've never been there. It's as if all my memories are nothing but dreams now..._

Pikachu tugged at Marth's cape. "Chu? Chu kachu pi?" (Marth? Is something wrong?)

"I guess not... well, maybe... Pikachu, has anything ever happened at the Fountain of Dreams?"

Pikachu nodded slowly. "Pi," (Yes,) it replied. "Chu, pi ka pi pikachu cha." (Marth, that was where you and I fought.)

Marth placed a hand to his forehead. "Why can't I remember any of this?"

"Pikachu, chu. Pika chupi." (I don't know, Marth. I just don't know.)

The prince shook his head. "It doesn't matter, anyway. If I worry too much about it, I'll just get a headache and I won't be able to focus on my match. What time is it anyway? How about you and I challenge Mario and Kirby to a game of cards until my match?"

**-----------------------**

At last, Marth's match finally came, after losing to Kirby, Pikachu, and Mario in "Poker". Why was the game called poker anyway? You didn't stab anyone, or poke them either. I've always wondered about that, haven't you?

As he, Popo, and Nana stepped into the elevator, they glanced out at the rest of the smashers. They were standing on two opposite sides of the room, apparently one side rooting for Marth, and one for Popo and Nana.

Marth smiled when he noticed Ness, Captain Falcon, Link, and Zelda among a few others on "his side".

"You'll be just fine, kid!" Captain Falcon shouted.

"Hey, Snow Climbers!" roared a familiar voice. "Beat up this wussy prince!"

"Wow, Bowser's actually-a rooting for-a someone?" Mario asked.

When they glanced over at the elevator to see how Marth had reacted, the doors had already shut.

"No offense to Popo and Nana," Fox commented, "but I bet Marth can beat them."

"Well, I bet he's gay," Bowser muttered. Peach whacked him in the back of the head and Captain Falcon glared at him.

_God, what does this guy have against Marth anyway?_

When Marth and the Ice Climbers appeared on the stage, the smashers gasped. With the exception of Pikachu, Kirby, and (unbeknownst to him) Marth, the others had never seen the fountain.

"It's beautiful," Zelda breathed, her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah," Fox agreed.

Kirby grinned. "Told ya."

"Hmph, MY castle looks better plus it's bigger!"

"SHUT UP, BOWSER!!"

Marth also appeared in awe of the fountain, staring into the dark reaches of the night sky and shimmering stars of the arena.

_You'd think I'd remember a place this beautiful... why can't I remember anything?_

Two powerful blows from two hammers literally knocked Marth from his thoughts. He flipped over backwards in midair, before clutching the ledge and swinging himself back up, striking a blow to the Ice Climber clad in green.

"He took damage," Donkey Kong commented, as the percentage reflected over the symbol of the eggplant rose from 0 to 5. "Then Popo is the leader today."

"Let's see what pretty boy's got up his sleeve," Bowser muttered. And Marth did so.

As Popo and Nana swept their hammers towards Marth, he flipped his sword towards his body in a smooth and swift movement. Right as the hammers connected, Marth whipped out his sword in an upward arc in front of him and shouted a battle cry as Popo and Nana were sent flying into the air. They lowered their hammers below their boots attempting to strike Marth from above, but he easily dodged before dashing forward and sweeping his blade in front of him. As Popo and Nana stood up, the prince began stabbing towards them in what resembled an intricate dance with his blade. His body gave off a red glow, then green, then blue, then red again. Each swipe he took increased the damage that the Ice Climbers received. Now, the swordsman held his sword in a manner similar to a baseball bat. His body began to glow in a dark blue color.

_This is the same move I saw Marth use when he saw the car two days ago._ Link thought to himself.

Right as the Ice Climbers landed within striking range, Marth brought the blade forward and down in front of him. Popo and Nana were sent flying into the camera used to record the matches. Everyone flinched except Bowser, who laughed.

"GAME!" Master shouted. "This game's winner is... MARTH!!"

He swung his arm in front of him, then behind him, waving his cape smoothly.

"Kyou mo ikinobiru koto ga dekita." he said.

_Oh dear... _Peach worried. _Is the translation stuff wearing off?_

Marth stepped out of the elevator, carrying one Ice Climber on each shoulder. "Ta-da!" the trio laughed.

"Marth," Peach commented. "I think your translation stuff is wearing off."

"It isn't," Marth stated. "I can still speak some of my original language just fine."

"Really-a?" Mario asked, stepping beside Peach. "What did-a you say?"

"Today, I have survived," Marth answered.

"Very well," Master commented. "We're having peanut butter and jelly for lunch-"

"THAT'S BABY FOOD!" Bowser roared.

"Mario, do they serve anything with peanut butter and jelly? Like bread or crackers?" Marth asked.

"I know these meals seem rather simple," Master sighed, rolling his eyes. "but remember, until Ruby feels better, you'll have to settle for simpler meals. Fortunately, she seems to be feeling much better than she did this morning. By tomorrow, you'll be having delicious meals again."

"If we-a had a second-a medic, it would-a probably be easier-a to prevent people from-a getting sick." Mario whispered to Peach as they walked back to the cafeteria with the rest of their smashers.

After their lunch and several leisurely activities, the next match between Peach and Kirby at Jungle Japes had arrived.

_I can win this, I can win this... _Peach kept telling herself.

They boarded the elevator and stepped out into the wooden deck of the arena. Peach and Kirby slowly approached each other from opposite ends of the arena, each waiting for the other to make a move. Suddenly, Peach swung out her hips and struck Kirby with explosive force. He was flung backwards slightly, then trying to end his flight, solidified as a rock...

... right over the water. And remember, rocks sink. With an anguished cry, Kirby sank like... a rock. Peach rubbed her eyes as the match came to a close.

_That fast?_

"GAME!" Master shouted. "This game's winner is... PEACH!"

"Oh, did I win?" She asked innocently, clasping her hands together and gazing upwards modestly.

"THAT'S-A THE WAY, PEACH! WAY TO-A GO!!!!!"

"YOSHI!!" (OH YEAH!!)

Kirby appeared slightly disappointed as he stepped out of the elevator. "Oh well, there's always next time. I won Friday, so I'm not too disappointed. Good fight, Peach."

**-------------------------------------------------**

The fight at Yoshi Island ended quickly, after Donkey Kong had grabbed Captain Falcon and carried him up the hill in the arena, before throwing him out of bounds for the win.

Donkey Kong puffed himself up a bit and beat his chest several times proudly as Master announced his victory.

Captain Falcon stepped out of the elevator without saying much.

"Can't win them all, you know," he said to Samus. She shook her head at him.

"Hey listen, I was wondering if-" he was cut off by Master.

"Next match is Yoshi vs. Bowser! Be prepared!" he shouted.

"Wondering what?" the bounty huntress asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head. "Never mind, it's not important. Hey, Link? Do you want any company before the next match?" he caught the elf off guard before walking over to talk with him.

Watching the F-Zero racer walk off, Samus felt a small smile tugging at her lips.

Yoshi clenched his two hands.

_Yoshi hup arara oshi hup, hur oshi hur hup ara yoshi! _(_I lost to Donkey Kong yesterday, but I won't lose to Bowser today!_)

**-----------------------------------**

In a dominating performance, Yoshi was chewed up, rolled flat, beat down, tossed aside, and flat out pummeled by Bowser in his sorrowing loss. Bowser had been impervious the entire time.

"Wow, that was depressing." Ness muttered as Yoshi moped out of the elevator.

"Final match of the day is in one hour. Ness and Fox, be ready!"

When several of the smashers entered the cafeteria to grab a light snack, our princely protagonist decided to pay Spike a visit.

"Remember me?" he asked softly.

"Oh yeah," Spike commented. "You're that Martha guy."

"Actually it's Marth, but close enough."

"Whatever," the dancer muttered, shrugging. "You here to try dancing or singing?"

"I was going to si- did you say dancing?"

Spike grinned. "I guess we didn't show you guys!" He shouted.

All the smashers turned their heads to see Spike pull out a small remote and click a button. The first one revealed a flat-screen plasma TV that slid out of a secret compartment from the ceiling. Feeling enthusiastic, the pink-haired man spun around and clicked two buttons. Two platforms rose from the floor, each one with four arrows facing north, south, east, and west. The north and south arrows were blue and the east and west arrows were pink.

_It matches Alice's and Spike's hair..._ Marth thought with a smile.

"In addition to the new single player option for your fighting... stuff, Alice and I are proud to announce our brand new DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION FOR THE KARAOKE BAR!!!!"

A few smashers applauded, even though they weren't sure what they were celebrating.

"Malon, can you handle the cafeteria line?" Spike called over to her. "I want Alice to help me show our guests how to play Dance Dance Revolution!"

Malon winked at Alice. "Go ahead! You know you want to dance with him!"

Alice blushed and didn't reply, but stepped out from behind the cafeteria line to stand on one of the dance pads beside Spike.

"Okay, here's how it's played," she said shyly. "First you decide what mode you want to play in. You can dance Single, Versus- where you compete against your fellow dancer, or Double, where you both dance as a team. Next you choose your difficulty level- Beginner, Light, Standard, or Heavy. Some songs also have a Challenge option, but I'd recommend all of you start out as Beginners or Lights."

Spike and Alice both chose Standard difficulty.

"Now all that's left to do is to choose the music to dance to. Many of these songs are techno style or remixes, so some songs are slower and some are uber fast. We have the largest DDR song library known to man, so if there's a song you're looking for, we probably have it!" Spike explained.

"Is it okay if I pick the song?" Alice asked, a small smile on her face.

"Sure," Spike replied.

Alice shifted through the song library to the 'B' section until she found "Butterfly".

"Butterfly?" Bowser questioned. "What kind of song is that?"

The smashers were shocked by the number of arrows appearing on the screen.

"Now," Spike panted as he stepped frantically to match the arrows, "you just have to step in time to- crap, missed that one- match the arrows you see on the screen. Blue arrows are- shoot, not again- eighth beats and arrows that appear at the same time mean you have to- arrrggghhh!!- jump!!"

The song ended with both Alice and Spike earning "A" rankings. Most of the smashers were applauding.

"At the end of the song," Alice explained as she caught her breath, "You'll be ranked as a dancer based on how well you matched the steps. Also, at the end of your total performance, you'll be given an overall grade."

"Up for a little challenge?" Spike teased.

"Bring it," Alice replied.

The next song was "b4u" and the smashers were shocked by the number of steps Spike and Alice matched.

"Wow... Perfect, Perfect, Great, Perfect, Perfect, Great, Great, Great, Good, Perfect. These two are unstoppable!!" Donkey Kong commented.

When the eighth steps arrived, all of the smashers' jaws dropped. Yes, that even includes Bowser. Spike and Alice were hammering on the dance pads. Now the steps were reading Perfect all the way through, with only a few "Great"s thrown in here or there.

"Keep going! You guys are sugoi!" Marth cheered.

"Even I'm forced to admit, I've never seen step so fast!" Bowser admitted.

"Pikachu! Pika pi pikachu!" (Keep it up! Your steps are amazing!) the small electric mouse shouted.

What was especially impressive were the extra steps Spike and Alice were able to throw in. When the song ended, Spike and Alice nearly fell over as their scores came up- Alice earned a "AA" ranking and Spike had made another "A". The author was also tired, as she had typed most of the last paragraph to the beat of "b4u" as well. The final song was "Waka Laka" and was comparatively easier than the previous one. Still, it left many of the smashers in awe after Spike and Alice had both earned "AA"s. The final score was Alice with a "AA" ranking and Spike with an "A".

"So, who's next?" Alice laughed.

Mario and Peach immediately volunteered for a Double, but were disappointed when Alice explained it was for Light difficulty and on up. Still, Spike told them what the easiest songs to dance to were and they had a pleasant time.

Just as Mario and Peach finished their dance routine earning a "B" ranking, Ness glanced up at the clock.

"Whoa, we gotta hurry, Fox! Five minutes till four!"

The vulpine glanced at his watch.

"Good call, Ness! Hey guys, we gotta go. Have fun dancing!"

Ness and Fox dashed to the fighting arena to find Master waiting for them.

"You were nearly late." he growled.

"Sorry," the pilot and PSI-gifted boy apologized.

Without another word, they stepped into the elevator heading for Princess Peach's Castle.

Ness and Fox dashed towards each other, leaping over the tower in the middle of the castle's roof. Fox swiftly used his Fox Illusion attack to fly swiftly past Ness, striking the boy hard.

_Sure would've been nice if everyone had stopped dancing and actually watched us fight!_

Ness tried to retaliate by using PK Fire, but Fox deflected it with his Reflector shield, launching the inferno right back on Ness. Fox whipped out his blaster and shot Ness twice before dashing directly next to him and stunning him with his reflector shield. Ness floated back and managed to kick Fox powerfully against the ground to launch him into the air and shoot him with a PK Thunder attack. Fox twirled his body around several times, kicking Ness multiple times, before kicking Ness into the air. Charging up energy within him, he launched a Firefox attack and flung Ness even higher in the air. Ness managed to deliver another midair kick, before Fox repeated his aerial kicking move and then a powerful kick/backflip. Ness was sent hurtling against the video camera.

"GAME!" Master shouted. "This game's winner is... FOX!"

Fox twirled his blaster around in one hand before returning it to its holster. "Mission Complete!" he declared triumphantly.

Much to their surprise, Fox and Ness found Zelda and Marth waiting for them.

"I gues we're too late to watch your match," Zelda sighed.

"Who won?" Marth asked.

Ness pointed at Fox with a small scowl.

"Congratulations," Zelda commented.

"Maybe next time," Marth reassured Ness.

"Very well, you're free for the rest of the evening. We'll be announcing the current records tonight before the announcements about the fights tomorrow."

**----------------------------------------**

After a few games of DDR, dinner arrived. Once again, things were kept simple, and the smashers were having beef, shrimp, or chicken ramen for dinner.

"Now then, it's time to announce the current standings based on records."

The screen used to display matches began scrolling through a list of names.

**Zelda: 2-0**

**Pikachu: 2-0**

**Donkey Kong: 2-0**

**Marth: 1-0**

**Samus: 1-1**

**Ice Climbers: 1-1**

**Peach:1-1**

**Kirby:1-1**

**Captain Falcon: 1-1**

**Bowser: 1-1**

**Fox:1-1**

**Link: 0-1**

**Yoshi: 0-2**

**Mario: 0-2**

**Ness:0-2**

"The final four suck!" Bowser shouted. Link, Yoshi, and Mario glared at him, whereas Ness stared at the table, ashamed.

"If I had been fighting today, I could've probably beat you."

"In your dreams, elfie!"

Master cleared his throat and resumed his speaking.

"Very well, continuing on... these are the matches for tomorrow."

Several of the smashers groaned.

"I can't believe I forgot about the Classics and the Adventure!" Donkey Kong groaned.

"Now my plans are shot for tomorrow..." Marth sighed.

"Pika. Kachu pichu pikachu pika." (Oh well. At least I have a perfect record.)

"..." Fox had remained emotionless during the announcement.

"There's always tomorrow..." Zelda commented to Fox.

_Then again, he didn't seem too thrilled about the single player mode..._

"WILL YOU PLEASE LET ME FINISH?!" Master shouted. Everyone shut their mouths and stared at the battle coordinator. "I apologize for losing my temper. Here are tomorrow's matches..."

_**Hyrule Temple: 10:00 am**_

_Zelda vs. Bowser_

_**Poke'mon Stadium: 10:45 am**_

_Peach vs. Donkey Kong_

_**Brinstar: 11:30 am**_

_Link vs. Captain Falcon_

_**Onett: 1:30 pm**_

_Marth vs. Samus_

"_And..._ contrary to popular belief, we WILL have a Classic Mode match tomorrow. Remember how I said that the versus matches are held prior to one Classic Mode fight?"

Several "Ohhh"s came from the smashers.

"But who's fighting tomorrow?" Ness asked.

Master smirked as the name flashed on the screen. Zelda gasped.

**CLASSIC MODE: FOX MCCLOUD**

**-----------------------------------------**

**bijoukaiba: (smirks like Master) Lol, I thought that might be the perfect cliffhanger.**

**Wondering how I decide who fights who? I use a random number program on my calculator and depending on what numbers come up decide the matches or who sits out. For example, in Chapter 4, the number 17 came up when I decided who would sit out. Link's number is 17.**

**As for who wins, that's decided by a coin flip. There are only three fighters who have their matches rigged, and that's only for the purpose of future chapters.**

**Now that Classic and Adventure Modes have arrived, I will use the actual video game to determine those fights.**


	6. A Classic Victory Song

_**Swordplay**_

**bijoukaiba: Well, last time I left my story at a pretty good cliffhanger! At least, that was my opinion.**

**Bowser: Will you just CONTINUE already?**

**bijoukaiba: Fine, meanie! **

**Bowser: bijoukaiba doesn't blah, blah...**

**bijoukaiba: (glares)**

_**Bowser: (sweatdrop) Errr, that is, bijoukaiba doesn't own Nintendo, SSBM, or any of its characters and related things.**_

**bijoukaiba: Good boy. (gives him dog biscuit)**

**Bowser: HEY!!!!!!!! (throws it at her head) YOU KNOW I HATE THAT FLAVOR!!!**

**---------------------------------------**

**Chapter 6: A Classic Victory Song**

**CLASSIC MODE: FOX MCCLOUD**

"It's true," Crazy added. "Fox was the only one to remember to sign up. He personally asked me for the sign-up sheet!"

Fox smirked slightly at the sight of his name on the screen.

"What?" Zelda asked him. "I thought you weren't interested!"

"Well, someone's gotta make sure this new single stuff is safe!" the pilot replied silently.

"But-" she whispered.

"Look," Fox replied sternly, keeping his voice low. "one of us had to take the risk eventually. Don't worry, Zelda. I'll be fine. I promise."

**-------------------------**

The next morning, Ruby was feeling much better and was there to prepare omelettes with cheddar cheese and diced tomatoes. Fresh orange juice, tea, coffee, and Lon-Lon milk were provided as well. Fox had taken a glass of coffee and an omelette with a few extra toppings.

"Fox," Zelda commented. "You won't be fighting till lunch is over."

"I realize that," the vulpine replied with half a mouthful of omelette. "I just want to build up my metabolism."

"What?" Zelda asked.

"Metabolism." he corrected. "It's what gives you energy during the day. Here, I'll try to explain..."

**----------------------------**

At 10:00, Zelda and Bowser arrived in the fighting tower for their battle in Hyrule Temple.

"No hard feelings, okay? Best of luck!" Zelda wished to Bowser, offering her hand. The koopa reached out to her, then pulled his hand away quickly.

"Gotcha!" He shouted as he slowly pounded his way into the elevator. Zelda was practically suffocated.

"I hope Zelda can beat that overgrown turtle," Fox commented. "I mean really, he's huge! Zelda's such an innocent and delicate fighter..."

"Relax," Samus assured, "I beat that monster just fine, didn't I?"

"Good point," Fox mused.

"... What did you mean by 'innocent and delicate' anyway?"

Link's ears perked up at this and turned around at Fox.

"Ummm... bad use of words?"

Zelda started out with a Din's Fire attack. Bowser flinched briefly and was thrown back a foot. Dashing along awkwardly (for such a slow character), he rammed Zelda violently. She was flipped over onto her back.

"Zelda!" Fox cried at the screen.

"I EAT PRINCESSES FOR LUNCH!!" the koopa roared, preparing to fling himself onto the Hylian. Standing up, she cast a Nayru's Love spell and reflected Bowser off of herself.

_He seems awfully slow... I need to use that disadvantage against him!_

Casting a small aura of light around herself, she transformed into her more mysterious form, Sheik.

"PI! PIKACHU PIKA?!" (WHOA! HOW DID SHE DO THAT?!)

Link and Ness were the only ones who weren't surprised by the transformation.

"Where did Zelda go?" Marth inquired.

"Nowhere," Link and Ness replied. "She just changed her form."

The elf eyed the younger boy oddly.

"Since when do you know about Sheik?"

"Since Zelda and I rescued someone off the beach!" Ness whispered.

Sheik leapt forward swiftly, delivering two sharp kicks into Bowser's face. The koopa king tried to grab her, but Sheik rolled swiftly aside and began whipping him with a chain. Using fire breath to halt the Sheikah's barrage of assaults, Bowser swung his claws forward at her and knocked her sideways. She responded with several needles flying into his neck and head. With a final double kick, Bowser was sent flying off the stage.

"GAME!" Master shouted. He glanced over at Link. "How do pronounce it again? Oh, right. THIS GAME'S WINNER IS... SHEIK!!"

Sheik had folded her arms and placed a hand to her chin, giving a pleased nod of her head.

Bowser stormed angrily out of the elevator while Sheik exitted calmly.

Most of the smashers were staring at her.

"What?" She asked with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. "Oh, wait..."

She cast the aura around herself once more and reverted back to her original form. The smashers became calm once again.

"That's better," she giggled.

**-------------------------------------------------**

As many would expect, Donkey Kong crushed Peach in their fight by repeating the same strategy he had used against Captain Falcon, by lifting her and carrying her to the edge of the arena for a toss so she couldn't fly back.

Even after her defeat, Peach still congratulated Donkey Kong properly; it was the proper thing to do, even though she admitted privately to Mario she was slightly disappointed.

At Brinstar, a vertical aerial strike from the Master Sword knocked Captain Falcon into the lava pits. After being tossed about like a piece of popcorn on a trampoline, it only took two hefty swipes of Link's sword to shove Falcon off the side of the screen.

Much to the Hylian's surprise, Marth appeared even more pleased for his victory than Zelda. She gave him a brief smile and a thumbs up before returning to conversation with Peach and Fox. Of course.

"Hi," Marth said to Link. "Great fight."

"Thanks, good luck aganst Samus."

They shared a friendly handshake before Pikachu leapt onto Marth's head, inviting him to eat lunch with him.

"Pika pikachu, chu?" (Will you sit with me, Marth?)

"Oh, sure! Are you hungry now?" He smiled apologetically to the Hylian, before walking off to the cafeteria.

**--------------------------**

For lunch, Ruby had prepared a rich soup filled with meat and vegetables. There was hardly any room for the actual broth.

"Now this is MY kind of soup!!" Bowser roared happily, actually complimenting someone. "Not like PB and J sandwiches and ramen!"

Malon stuck out her tongue and Alice sighed.

"Don't worry!" Spike comforted, trying to help her feel better. "I, uh, like your sandwiches!"

She gave him a grateful smile and whispered a thank you as they stepped into line after the last of the smashers had gotten their food.

Link, Zelda, and Ness sat together, after Marth's table quickly filled up with Donkey Kong, Pikachu, and Peach. Ness had taken notice that Link was staring at Marth as he spoke with Peach, unaware he was being watched. Link's face appeared serious, concentrating on the prince's eyes as he spoke.

"Uh, Link? Hello?" Ness asked. "You're staring at Marth..."

The Hylian shook his head. "Sorry about that..."

"What were you thinking, anyway?" Zelda asked. Link sighed and stirred his soup awkwardly.

"I'm just confused about Marth..."

Zelda and Ness exchanged a glance.

"How so?"

Link gazed over at Marth again, as he and Pikachu laughed at a comment DK had made.

"He's obviously trying to be strong... after what happened a few nights ago. We're the only ones that know. Everyone thinks he's truly happy, but when you really look into his eyes..."

Marth had glanced over at Link and gave a small wave of the hand before turning back to his table mates.

"... you can really see the sorrow he's concealing, the invisible tears behind those blue eyes..."

**--------------------------------**

Once again, the battlefield had contributed to the victory after lunch. True, Samus had struck Marth with a missile and a charge shot, but after being smacked around by a car for the third time, she was sent spiralling upward into a fully powered Shield Breaker.

"GAME!!" Master shouted. "THIS GAME'S WINNER IS... MARTH!!"

With a quick flick of his sword, the prince tucked Falchion neatly back into its sheath.

"Konkai wa boku no kecha da ne?"

Captain Falcon nodded. "He put up a great fight there. Samus also did an excellent job."

"AND NOW!!!!!!!!!!" Crazy shouted, leaving some people with sore ears. "THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!!! CLASSIC MODE, FEATURING FOX MCCLOUD!!!!"

Fox stepped out behind a random curtain made of a bed sheet that Crazy had poorly constructed. The vulpine pilot was wearing a mardi gras type mask, a long green robe, and a cape.

"Err, I think this is a bit too much," Fox admitted awkwardly, pulling off the robe that concealed the blue jacket he had been wearing that day.

"Hmmm... good point..." Crazy murmured as Fox removed the mask. "You look like a cross between Captain Falcon, Sheik, and Martha."

"MY NAME IS MARTH!!"

Bowser scoffed and Marth whacked him over the head with the butt of his sword.

"Very well then," Master said. "I'll display a list of names upon the screen, the opponents you'll be facing for Classic Mode. No one has been told if they'll be fighting, or if it will be for or against you."

The screen began to scroll through a list of names:

**Yoshi**

**Kirby**

**Mario**

**Bowser**

**Captain Falcon**

**Ness**

**Zelda **(upon seeing her name, Zelda groaned a little bit)

**Peach**

**Donkey Kong**

**Marth**

"This means, of course, that Samus, the Ice Climbers, Link, and Pikachu will have the rest of the afternoon off."

"Pikachu." (Whatever.)

The Ice Climbers followed the Poke'mon to get a sundae.

"Fox, you'll step into our elevator and you'll be transported to an empty room. That way, you can't tell who you'll be facing. We'll send your opponent up to fight you."

The pilot stepped into the elevator and saluted.

"First Match," Master announced, "Will be Donkey Kong vs. Fox at Jungle Japes!"

After making the announcement, Zelda gripped onto his suit and pulled him over to face her.

"_Listen,_" she hissed. "_if ANYTHING happens to him-_"

"Whoa, Zelda!" Link interjected, gently holding her by the shoulders and pulling her away. "Master's told us everything's safe."

Master nodded, his eyes wide as he straightened his suit. While she appeared sweet and calm, Zelda wasn't the type to stand around and hope for the best- she was one to take action and do whatever it took to protect the people she cared about.

At that moment, a soft yet gruff roar was heard as Donkey Kong flew off into the sunset.

"GAME!" Master shouted.

As Donkey Kong emerged from the elevator, clutching his knee, Fox's score was being displayed on the screen.

"Man, that guy knows how to KICK!" the ape exclaimed.

Master glanced at a list he had made of the Classic fighters.

"Now, next I'll need Marth, Peach, and Zelda."

She glared at Master.

"It's not my choice, I'm just following what the computer picked! Besides, you might end up fighting alongside him!"

Just as Link was about to ask if she really was, the image appeared on the screen of the 2 v 2 match between Team Fox (with Marth as his ally), and Team Peach (with Zelda as her ally)

Marth ran forward and swiftly whipped his blade forward and struck Peach, while Fox grabbed a Poke'ball and threw it at the feet of Zelda. A cute creature that had two flowers on its head and appeared to be wearing a skirt made of petals began dancing and releasing a purple powder.

"Bellossom!" it chorused as it danced. Zelda slowly kneeled down and leaned over, falling asleep. Marth leapt over to her and swung his sword down upon her, then pointed his sword skyward, the tip of the blade neatly hitting Zelda. She screamed loudly as she flew off screen. Almost a second later, Fox had kicked Peach off in the same way.

Now came Fox's target test. He easily struck down the first nine targets, but missed his final one.

Fighting against Ness proved too easy, as a misfire with PK Thunder launched the PSI-gifted child off the road straight into a taxi.

At the Mute City arena, Captain Falcon received multiple doses of Super Mushroom Soup, until he was even bigger than Bowser. Speaking of which, our favorite Starfox pilot had been teamed up with Mario and said turtle. Before Fox even had a chance to attack, Bowser and Mario had shot Captain Falcon off the race track.

"Feeling okay?" Peach asked the bounty hunter.

"Yeah," Falcon replied, holding a hand to his forehead. "I think all those mushrooms gave me a headache, that's all."

Mario chuckled, "Yeah, they-a take some getting-a used to."

On the "collection" level, three trophies fell from the sky. One resembled an orange dragon, spewing fire from its mouth.

"How much you wanna bet that it's a Poke'mon?" Captain Falcon offered to Bowser.

The other one was a girl in a pretty yellow dress with brown hair wearing flowery earrings.

"Wow, that looks like Daisy!" Peach gasped. "Mario, what do you think Luigi would say if he saw that?"

The final trophy looked like a monster truck, and Fox had managed to collect all three.

"Those are trophies," Master explained, "and just for perks, we have a trophy hall for the trophies our fighters have collected."

Fox's match against Mario wasn't as great as he had hoped; with a misfire of his Fox Illusion attack, he had slipped into one of the pits on the Mushroom Kingdom stage.

"This place is unlucky for me!"

Grabbing a bomb that fell from the sky, he chucked it at Mario for the same effect to befall the plumber.

Up next, Fox had to fight Kirby... as well as nine clones of him!

"He's at the Fountain of Dreams," Peach noted. "Can you imagine how pretty that must be in the actual arena?"

"I can!" Marth teased.

Kirby had his stamina weakened, so a really strong attack from Fox sent him (and the rest of his nine clones) flying off screen quickly.

"Race to the finish!" Master announced.

Fox was placed inside a large labyrinth with multiple doors everywhere. Confused about the purpose of the obstacle, he stepped into the first door he spotted.

In his final match against metal Yoshi, Fox shot Yoshi multiple times, swept through him twice with the Fox Illusion, then delivered two of his backflip kicks to send Yoshi out of reach of the arena, unable to recover.

As Yoshi exitted the elevator, a few of the smashers were applauding to see him again.

"Very well, I need to meet with Fox for a moment, I'll be right back. We'll need a private moment, I request you all leave for a few moments."

Master tugged briefly at his right glove with a smirk before stepping into the elevator as the smashers left the building.

**---------------------------**

Fox glanced around at the arena he was in. He was standing upon black metal that was surrounded with purple and fuschia metals in a "chainmail" type of pattern. Surrounding him was black space and even more stars than there had been at the Fountain of Dreams.

"Where am I?" he questioned out loud. "Is this some kind of trick?"

His ears perked up at the sound of cackling, and was shocked to see what was on the opposite side of the arena. A giant gloved hand (the right hand to be more precise) was fading into vision in front of him, and was wiggling its fingers around and clenching them into a fist.

_Andross! _Fox turned around, expecting to see a second hand or the head of a giant ape, but there was nothing there. Taking a closer look at the hand, he realized it didn't have any gems on it either.

Suddenly, it floated into the air and began firing lasers at him. Right after his tail was singed by a beam, he concluded, _Guess I gotta fight this thing!_

He leapt into the air and performed a back flip, kicking the hand in the process. Onscreen (although nobody was there to watch it), the HP readout for the hand dropped from 150 to 138. Fox leapt into the air again and performed his spinning drill kick, the same one he had used against Ness. 138 quickly changed into 129. The hand's fingertips rested on the platform and walked forward, "kicking" Fox across the arena. His percentage rose to 25.

Striking back, Fox charged up his Firefox attack and blew through his foe, bringing his HP down to 120. Fox leapt up and performed a side kick, bringing the HP further down to 107. The hand flew high into the air and tried to swat Fox against the ground, but he leapt up and dodged easily. He fired his blaster into the enemy twice before using Firefox on it again, dropping it down to 92. The hand began using the laser trick again, and Fox used a backflip kick via the ground for a heavy drop from 92 to 70 HP. He shot another Firefox through it to lower the health to 59. He had been careful to avoid the lasers this time.

Next, the giant glove began writhing its fingers as a glittery blue glow surrounded them. Fox was prepared for the worst, and dodged when it struck.

_Whoa! That thing almost grabbed me!_

He performed another aerial backflip kick upon the hand and a second side kick. Now the health had been lowered to 36 HP. The glove made a gun shape with its fingers and shot a golden bullet at Fox. He was struck by it and was sent flying backwards with 48 damage. He leapt up and shot two more blaster fires through it, before performing another jump and shuttling through it with a Fox Illusion attack. Fortunately, our furry hero landed safely on the platform this time. Only 32 HP remained.

Fox performed another powerful backflip kick, scoring a 22 point hit. Unbeknownst to him, one more hit could finish the hand off! McCloud performed a final Firefox attack, drilling into the palm of the hand. As he made impact, time seemed to freeze for a split second as a bright light emanated from the hand and it screamed horribly as it flew off in the background.

Time seemed to slow down after that final blow...

**-------------------------**

Master left the elevator calmly, slightly shaken from the battle. Fox was currently playing around in a type of action shooter pilot game while the data from his match was being processed. He was grateful to the vulpine pilot for winning so quickly, because Zelda, Kirby, Marth, Pikachu, Peach, Link, and Ness had walked into the battle room.

"Hey Master, are you feeling okay? You look kinda sweaty..." Ness commented.

"Aheheh... we gotta install an air conditioner in that room." Master joked, tugging at the collar of his shirt awkwardly.

"What's that?" Marth asked, pointing at the screen. It looked like white bullets were shooting at random targets.

"Oh, Fox is just in a mini-game. We use it to entertain the fighters after their big challenge in Classic Mode!"

"Chu ka chu pikachu, pikachu pi chupi 'Kachu Pa' pika?" (If it's such a challenge, why didn't you name it 'Challenge Mode' instead?) the Poke'mon asked, oddly sarcastic. The screen counted Fox's hits as a grand total of 129.

Refusing to answer the question, the smashers watched as a movie of some of Fox's moves were displayed, followed by a picture of him leaping from an Arwing.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Master cheered. The screen turned black after this statement.

"Well, I guess it seems pretty safe... I wonder what Fox thought of the experience?" Zelda asked, walking over to the elevator.

_He's done with the Classic match. That's my cue._

Reaching innocently into his pocket, Master clicked a button on a communicator. On the receiving end, Crazy obtained the message.

"Time to release prisoner number two!" he cackled.

At that moment, the screen changed to a completely blue color. Gasps from the remaining smashers caught Zelda's attention, and she began worrying as the oh-too-familiar words of "A NEW CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED" flashed upon the screen.

"It's happening again," Link muttered.

Pikachu and Marth appeared confused.

"This is what happened right before you guys fought each other," Peach explained.

_Did I really cause this much worry?_ Marth wondered.

**-----------------------------------------**

Fox was now even more confused than he previously was at the site of his battle against the giant hand.

_I seem to be at... the Poke'mon Stadium? _

At that moment, he glanced at the platform directly across from him and did a double-take. There was a puffball standing on it!

"Kirby? Is tha- AGH!"

The puffball dashed towards him and rammed him with a headbutt.

"Jiggly!" (Take that!) She shouted.

"Okay, you're definitely not Kirby!" Fox shouted as he performed a spin side kick into the puffball. Flung backwards into the air, Fox used the opportunity to create a Fox Illusion attack, landing on the platform the puffball had perched upon. Try saying that ten times fast!

He performed a backflip kick, sending her up into the air. The puffball tried to descend in a kicking move, but another backflip-kick from Fox sent her spiralling off the stage in a display of bright green fireworks.

"Jigglypuff!..." (It's not fair!...) She moaned as she disappeared.

**------------------------------------**

Master and the previously mentioned smashers had gathered in front of the elevator, awaiting any sign from their furry pilot friend.

_Oh goddesses... please tell me he wasn't pitted against Ganondorf!_ Zelda prayed silently.

A few seconds later, a "ding" sound from the elevator startled everyone.

"Fox?" Marth asked softly.

The doors opened, and a slightly tense yet relieved Fox stepped out from the elevator.

"Pi, pikachu!" (Hey, he's okay!)

He grinned and stated his usual victory phrase.

"Mission com-"

Fox was cut off at that moment by someone wrapping their arms around him in a tight and friendly embrace. He turned bright red and his voice became a tad shakier when he realized what had happened.

"-plete?"

"Thank goodness," Zelda breathed, gently reducing her hold on Fox. "I was so worried! When the challenger notice appeared, I mean. I was worried it was the Andy Ross scientist you told me about... or even worse, it could have been Ganondorf!"

"No!" Fox gulped, swallowing his embarrassment and regaining his composure. "Everything was fine. My opponent was really weak!"

"Speaking of which," Link blurted suddenly, his ears perking briefly. "What did your opponent look like?"

Fox smiled. "A pink puffball, with a curl of hair near her eyes and small, cat-like ears. I think I was right to assume she was a girl. Oh yeah, she also kept saying the word 'jiggly'. Maybe she likes gelatin?"

Pikachu grinned. "Pi. Chu pikachi. Kapi pikachu chu chi ka pi!" (Nope. That's Jigglypuff. She's a Poke'mon that likes to sing!)

Fox winked at Kirby. "Did you hear that, buddy?"

Zelda giggled. "Sounds like Kirby's got a new playmate!"

Kirby's eyes bulged wide and his smile grew even wider. "Screw playmates, I've got a girlfriend to grab!"

"Speaking of grab," Fox whispered softly so only Zelda could hear him. "Could you let go of me now?"

She laughed. "Oh, right! Sorry!"

"It's all right!" he replied, his face slightly tinted red... if we could see it through his fur.

All the smashers walked off except for Peach and Fox, his face still red. Well, you know what I mean, anyway. Kirby was chatting excitedly with the others about where he would take Jigglypuff to dinner, and what he would get her for her birthday as they walked off. Zelda glanced behind her one last time and waved to Fox. He smiled and waved back.

Peach giggled.

"Ooh... I think someone's got a crush!"

Fox laughed. "Kirby hasn't even met her and he's already obsessed,"

Peach giggled again as she left Fox standing alone.

"Heehee... I wasn't talking about Kirby!"

Fox thought this over for a second, before turning bright red and chasing after Peach.

"HEEEYYY!!!"

The two of them bumped into the backs of Marth and Zelda, who had been stopped for an unknown reason.

"What's the hold-up?" The Mushroom princess whined.

"Shut up!" Ness hissed. "The room is back!"

Everyone was staring at a giant grey box-looking room that had appeared out of nowhere on the field connecting the battle tower and the dorms.

"What's the room?" Marth asked.

"Unless I'm mistaken," Peach explained, "The others and I came out of that room when we arrived here."

Kirby grinned. "Then I bet the girl puffball is in that box!"

Ness folded his arms. _Then why did Zelda and I find Marth trashed upon the beach like that?_

"WHEEE!!! I'M COMING!!" Kirby shouted, dashing off to the room.

"Wait, Kirby!" Zelda called. "It could be dangerous!"

"Meh," Kirby snorted and opened the door. He had barely opened it when just like last time...

... the room completely disapparated.

"How did that happen?" Marth asked.

"Not sure," Link replied. "Same thing happened to us when we tried opening the door,"

Pikachu pointed a finger. "Pi! Pika pi!" (Look! There she is!)

"Hello," Kirby purred in a low voice, trying to sound sexy. Sorry Kirby, but I think you're better off in the cute stereotype. "What's your name?"

"Ig Jigglypuff," (It's Jigglypuff,) Jigglypuff replied in an unsure voice. "Puff iggly?" (Who are they?)

Kirby turned around and saw the others standing right behind him. Without wasting any extra space for too many details, they all introduced themselves.

"Yeah, but they're not important," Kirby laughed, waving them off. The group had an anime fall moment. "I'M Kirby!"

"Jiggly jig!" (Pikachu!) She cried, leaping up and hugging him. "Ig jig ig puff? Jig jiggly Jigglypuff? Ig Igglypuff puff Jiggly jig igglypuff jig jig?" (How have you been? What about Satoshi? Are Kasumi and Takeshi still secretly flirting?)

Pikachu glanced at Marth and Link behind him, a frightened look in his eyes. "Ka!" (Help!) he whispered softly. The swordsmen chuckled. Pikachu flared up some electricity in its cheeks. Eyes wide, Marth knelt down and tried to distract Jigglypuff from Pikachu. Wow, Pikachu commands a lot of respect, doesn't he?

"So, I hear you like to sing," Marth commented. "May I hear you?"

"Jiggly, puff jig!" (Of course, handsome!) She giggled with a wink. Marth blushed awkwardly and Kirby glared.

"Jigg-a-lypuff, jiggly jigglypuff..." (This is my song, won't you please hear me...) She was cut off by the sight of a snoring prince in front of her. Although the others had been out of earshot, they looked slightly drowsy too.

"JIGGLYPUFF!!" (HOW DARE YOU!!) She growled, pulling out a random marker. She scribbled two big circles around Marth's eyes as well as a moustache, a frowning face on his forehead, and a flower on his cheek.

"Whoa, stop!" Ness shouted, yanking the marker from her grasp. This earned him a swat on the cheek.

"Jig!" (Mine!)

"Jigglypuff, if you want to fight people, you'll have to speak with Master. You'll get your match!" Peach explained as she roused Marth awake.

"What happened?" Marth asked groggily.

"..." Peach gave him her compact mirror. Cue freak-out.

"SAINT AKANEA! WHAT IN THE NAME OF ANRI HAPPENED TO MY FACE????!!!" The prince ran to the ocean and began trying to wash the marker off. Link, Zelda, and Fox were trying their best not to burst out laughing.

Kirby grinned at Jigglypuff. "I think I'm gonna like you!"

"Ig jig!" (Me too!)

**----------------------------------------------**

Joy had recognized Jigglypuff as well, and let her choose her room number from the box.

"Ig!" (Here!) she cheered, giving the paper back to Joy.

"Room 2," Joy noted, writing it down. She handed the appropriate key to Jigglypuff. "You're staying on the same floor as Mario, Peach, and Ness."

"Puff!" (Thanks!)

Master and Crazy were pleased to meet her as well. After all, she had no idea how she had arrived and being called one of 'the greatest warriors ever' was enough cause to ignore it. How was she supposed to know Master and Crazy were the ones who had kidnapped her?

Jigglypuff seemed eager to sing at the karaoke bar, but Marth warned Spike and Alice against it.

"Trust me, you won't like what happens," Marth muttered.

"Is that a flower on your cheek?" Alice inquired softly, trying to stifle a giggle.

"Like I said, trust me," Marth repeated, rubbing at his cheek.

She had been introduced to all the smashers courtesy of Kirby, and had taken a major liking to her fellow women, puffball, and Poke'mon.

**--------------------------------**

That night at dinner (after a tasty taco salad and soda), Master was giving one of his usual nightly speeches.

"Good evening, everyone. I see we've all met Jigglypuff and made her feel welcome," Master commented. Jigglypuff, who was sitting with Samus, Fox, and Kirby, stood up and was greeted by applause.

"I'm sure you'll make a fantastic fighter, Jigglypuff. This brings me to a new rule I wish to present to our other fighters,"

Everyone turned their attention to him.

"Whenever one of these new fighters emerges after a Classic or Adventure match, we have one day held with regular matches to start their personal record, which means tomorrow there will be NO CLASSIC OR ADVENTURE MATCHES. However, after tomorrow you're free to register once again. So without further ado, tomorrow's matches are..."

_**Termina: 10:00 am**_

_Bowser vs. Link_

_**Poke'mon Stadium: 10:45 am**_

_Pikachu vs. Peach_

_**Onett: 11:30 am**_

_Jigglypuff vs. Mario_

_**Green Greens: 1:30pm**_

_Yoshi vs. Marth_

_**Brinstar: 2:15 pm**_

_Ice Climbers vs. Donkey Kong_

_**Jungle Japes: 3:00 pm**_

_Ness vs. Samus_

_**Venom: 3:45 pm**_

_Fox vs. Captain Falcon_

_**Yoshi's Island: 4:30 pm**_

_Zelda vs. Kirby_

"That being said, I bid you good night. Sleep well, and be ready for tomorrow's matches!"

"Ig jig jigglypuff puff puff ig jiggly?" (Is it exciting to be a fighter?)

Samus chuckled.

"Believe me, you've NEVER experienced something like this before!"

**---------------------------------**

**bijoukaiba: Congratulations! Jigglypuff, you are now the sixteenth Smasher! Believe it or not, this is similar to the way I unlocked the characters on my SSBM game...**

**Kirby: Only Ganondorf won't be the second-to-last smasher you unlock, right?**

**bijoukaiba: SILENCE!! (covers his mouth) You're spoiling the story!!**

**Captain Falcon: I beat Master Hand and Crazy Hand today!**

**Marth: I beat Master Hand and Crazy Hand almost four months before you did!**

**bijoukaiba: Umm... o.o I think that means it's review time. Any guesses who the next smasher will be? ;)**


	7. Teamwork!

_**Swordplay**_

**bijoukaiba: Hey everyone! I just got through a TON of Pre-Calc work... sheesh, how much homework can one endure?**

**Peach: How should I know? Toad does everything for me!**

**bijoukaiba: Meh, can't think of anything to say. A new smasher will appear in the next 1-2 chapters! OOH! AAH!**

**Yoshi: Hur. Ararara hup hup Yoshi. (Hmph. Too bad it can't be Birdo...)**

**bijoukaiba: Less complaining, more disclaiming!**

**Yoshi: Oshiyoshi oshi hur ararara, oshiyo, hur hup arara. (_bijoukaiba doesn't own SSBM, Nintendo, or its characters._)**

_**-------------------------------------------**_

**Chapter 7: Teamwork!**

The next morning, Crazy and Master had more announcements to make.

"Good morning, everyone, we have a new set of challenges for everyone to complete! I realize Fox enjoyed Classic Mode yesterday, so we've added a new set of matches... a series we call Event Mode! There are various challenges, some specifically for a certain fighter, and others for anyone to try to complete. For example, one of the first matches is for Mario."

Several smashers turned around and glanced at Mario, who explained he didn't know anything about it.

"We have also introduced a new prototype of artificial fighter, known as a wireframe. We have based one on a male fighter and one on a female fighter. Taking simple fist-fighting and body size into consideration, these wire frames are based on Captain Falcon and Zelda."

The bounty hunter exchanged a smile with the princess, sitting next to him.

"These wireframes can be fought against in Multi-Man Melee matches! The options include 10-man, 100-man, 3-minute, 15-minute, Endless Melee- where you fight until you can't fight anymore, and Cruel Melee- where the frames won't stop until you're vanquished!"

Grins and chatter resumed.

"There is a bit of bad news, however; due to the demand for improving records..." Master glanced in particular at Mario, Jigglypuff, Yoshi, and Ness. "Due to the demand of improving records in melee fights, we have decided to eliminate the option of an extra Classic Mode fight; therefore the limit is now one Adventure per day and one Classic preceded by four fights a day as well. This way, those with poor records can improve!"

Despite the explanation, several groans and sighs were heard amidst the fighters, Bowser groaning loudest of all.

Once again, this was Crazy's turn to interrupt his brother. "There is more good news! We are willing to cancel your current matches for today for..."

"For what?" Ness asked.

"TEAM BATTLES!!!" Crazy shouted. He's been shouting so much, you'd think some of the smashers would've gone deaf by now. "If you all agree to cancel your matches for today, we will schedule team matches! Some of you will be required to change clothes for the team colors: red, blue, and green. If your team WINS a team match, you and your teammate will be awarded a win for each! If you lose, neither of you will be penalized for your loss. Putting that to consideration, would you like to engage in team battles today?"

Silence. And then...

"PIKACHU!!" (FINE BY ME!!)

"I agree-a with Pikachu!"

"Mario's right, this could be fun!"

"Frankly, I don't give a damn, but whatever..."

Crazy nodded to Master, who displayed that day's matches before completely erasing them.

"Very well then," Master agreed. "Here are the NEW matches for today!"

_**Mushroom Kingdom: 10:00 am**_

_**RED TEAM: **Ice Climbers x Kirby_

_**vs.**_

_**BLUE TEAM: **Peach x Yoshi_

_**Poke'mon Stadium: 11:00 am**_

_**BLUE TEAM: **Donkey Kong x Ness_

_**vs.**_

_**GREEN TEAM: **Jigglypuff x Zelda_

_**Hyrule Temple: 1:00 pm**_

_**GREEN TEAM: **__Captain Falcon x Samus _(hmm... I wonder who liked this match-up?)

_**vs.**_

_**RED TEAM: **__Bowser x Mario _(gee, I wonder of either of these two liked this partnership...)

_**Termina: 2:00 pm**_

_**RED TEAM: **Link x Marth_

_**vs.**_

_**BLUE TEAM: **Fox x Pikachu_

"These are your teammates for today, but remember: Today's friend can be tomorrow's enemy..." Crazy droned.

There was silence amidst the smashers, some glancing nervously at their teammates.

"Wait a minute," Captain Falcon argued, "isn't the saying supposed to be 'yesterday's enemy is today's friend'?"

"DO NOT QUESTION ME!!!" Crazy roared. Several fighters covered their ears.

Jigglypuff waved at Zelda two tables away. "Iggly! Jiggly jigglypuff?" (Zelda! Can I sit with you?)

Zelda turned to Captain Falcon, Fox, and Popo, who were sitting with her.

"Hey, would any of you volunteer to switch seats with-"

"I'll do it!" Captain Falcon quickly volunteered.

"Thank you, Captain," Zelda replied kindly. _How nice! I wonder why he was so quick to volunteer?_

He left his seat immediately and beckoned to the puffball. Jigglypuff hopped down from her seat next to Samus and waddled over to sit with Zelda.

Zelda frowned. _Oh wait... THAT'S why he moved._

Captain Falcon took the seat next to Samus, grinning at her.

"Pardon the pun, but... howdy, partner..."

Samus smacked her palm against her forehead. _Oh brother..._

Marth and Link exchanged a high-five (they were sitting together with Mario and Nana).

"Two swordsmen as a team," Marth repeated, "Nothing can stop us!"

**---------------------------------------------**

Yoshi had been thrilled to hear the victory conditions for the team matches.

_Hur hup arara, hup oshi ara YO yo!_(_Even if I lose, there's no way I can LOSE lose!)_

In a surge of excitement, he immediately leapt over and began a barrage of kicks, burying Popo (the leader) in one of the pits. Peach grabbed one of her turnips and flung it at Kirby, delivering 8 damage. Before she could even attack him further, Yoshi rammed him with a headbutt, Kirby flying off the walls into the pit.

"Wow! That was fast!" Marth exclaimed.

"GAME!" Master shouted. "This game's winner is... BLUE TEAM!"

Peach put on a modest look and asked, "Oh, did I win?" whereas for Yoshi's victory pose, he spun around and flashed the peace sign. "Yoshi!" (Yahoo!)

A thrilled Yoshi and Peach stepped out of the elevator, with the Ice Climbers and Kirby close behind. The latter team didn't appear too upset about losing; in fact, they appeared quite happy for Yoshi's first victory!

"I think it was kinda rude for Peach to make that comment, considering Yoshi did all the work," Donkey Kong commented to Ness. The psychic boy nodded in agreement.

"One match down, three to go..." Marth whispered with a grin.

**-------------------------------------**

In a slightly similar situation to the previous match, Jigglypuff and Zelda defeated Ness and Donkey Kong. Only instead there was less gloating.

"Ig puff jig iggly puff jigglypuff," (I still think you guys fought very well,) Jigglypuff commented. "Igglypuff jiggly puff puff jiggly ig," (Donkey Kong threw me off the arena,) A few other smashers complimented their fighting skills. Kirby complimented Jigglypuff's green headband. Aww, puffy love.

At lunch, most of the smashers sat together with their teammates, save for Mario, Bowser, Samus, Kirby, Captain Falcon, and the Ice Climbers.

"I don't know too much about women, but I think she's starting to like me!" Captain Falcon laughed, receiving awkward glances from Marth, Link, and Popo.

"He's been following me everywhere ever since we met, and now that we're partners, it's impossible to keep him away! Why can't he just leave me ALONE?!" Samus raged, with Peach, Yoshi, and Nana there to try and comfort her.

"He wanted to call a TRUCE?! I hardly know the meaning of those horrible words!" Bowser roared into the ears of Ness and Donkey Kong.

"All-a I did was try to make-a peace with Bowser-a, and he gets-a all mad-a at me!!" Mario muttered to Zelda, Jigglypuff, and Kirby.

"Hmm, I wonder what they're talking about?" Fox asked Pikachu.

"Pii ka," (No clue.)

**-------------------------------------------**

Now came the time for the Falcon-Samus vs. Bowser-Mario match... the one the author would enjoy elaborating. Hehehe...

"You ready for this?" Captain Falcon asked the bounty huntress as she stepped into the elevator between him and Mario.

"Let's just get this over with," she muttered, putting her helmet on.

The fighters appeared at the temple and Captain Falcon was feeling pretty confident. Wanting to look good in front of Samus, he taunted his opponents boldly.

"Show me your moves!"

Angered by the confidence of the male bounty hunter, Bowser lashed out his claws and gripped onto Captain Falcon's torso, biting him several times. At that moment, a missile struck him in the back of the head and his grip loosened enough for the racer to break free.

"Thanks for that!" Falcon saluted to his partner. Bowser turned around and growled at Samus when suddenly the koopa king felt a sharp kick to his lower back.

"FALCON KICK!!"

Mario shot a few fireballs at Samus before leaping over to the confrontation between Falcon and Bowser. Mario drilled his feet into Captain Falcon's shoulders from the air, only to be grabbed and thrown against Bowser.

"Get offa me!" Bowser shouted, shoving Mario "offa" him.

"And-a I thought we were-a supposed to work-a together!" Mario howled as Captain Falcon caught Mario and hurled the plumber over his shoulder, where Samus smacked him heavily in the mouth. He wailed as he flew out of the arena.

"Two against one isn't fair!" Bowser raged, as he leapt over and snatched Samus into his arms, biting her several times before body slamming her. Samus set up her power shield from further damage, but a powerful shockwave from Bowser leaping down upon her shattered it easily. She landed under a small gazebo on the left side of the arena. The destruction of the shield left Samus dizzy and unable to move.

"Don't touch her!" Captain Falcon ran towards the Koopa King. Obviously, Bowser ignored him.

Marth, watching the fight, was amazed. _He's so fast!_

"How ideal! Revenge for my first defeat!" Bowser snickered, preparing to fire a heavy headbutt into Samus's side. At that moment, the koopa felt someone grab him from behind and spin him around.

"Surprised?" Captain Falcon asked, driving his feet in a painful, fiery kick into the belly of the overgrown turtle. "YEAAH!!"

Bowser was sent flying a short distance away from the gazebo.

"Fool, I can just jump back!" Bowser challenged, spinning his body in the air. "What do you say to that?"

"FALCON..."

"... shit..."

"... PUNCH!!!!"

Falcon's fist of fiery fury connected with Bowser's jaw and he spiraled off the left side of the arena.

"What a match!" Fox commented. "Samus and Falcon both came through for each other when they were in danger!"

"I know Samus would never admit to it," Peach giggled, "but she and Falcon work well together!"

"GAME!" Master shouted. "This game's winner is... GREEN TEAM!"

Samus knelt down and fired a round of flaming shots in front of her before nodding confidently. Captain Falcon leapt up with a fast roundhouse kick before kneeling beside Samus.

The four fighters marched over to their respective friends.

"Captain Falcon, that was incredible! I'd love to partner up with you in a fight!" Marth congratulated, shaking his hand.

"Kachu, chu ka pika," (Samus, I like your gun,)

"You showed a lot of courage, Mario!" Peach complimented.

"Maybe next time?" Ness squeaked with a shrug as Bowser stepped over to him. He made Ness his random 'friend' because he didn't really like anyone there at all. Except the Poke'mon and Kirby, because they looked fat and juicy...

"Bah..." Bowser roared, spooking Ness to hide behind Mario. "I CAME SO CLOSE!!!!"

This caught the attention of the rest of the smashers and they fell silent. He pointed a finger at Samus, who had just removed her helmet.

"IF YOUR BOYFRIEND HADN'T RAPED ME AT THE LAST SECOND, I WOULD'VE TOTALLY CRUSHED YOU!!!"

Samus balled up her fists.

"BOYFRIEND?!"

Captain Falcon glared at the koopa angrily as well.

"RAPED?!"

Donkey Kong's face lit up.

"CRUSHED? I like crushed pineapple in my smoothies!" A few of the smashers stared at him. "What? Dude, it's healthy and it totally tastes great!"

Jigglypuff pulled out her microphone.

"Pu puff ig jig igglypuff jig iggly jigglypuff. Jigpuff, igglypuff jiggly ig?" (Bowser has just insulted you and your boyfriend. Samus, how does this make you feel?)

She pointed the microphone/pen at Samus. The bounty huntress pushed it away.

"Since when did you become a news reporter anyway? Let's just get one thing straight," She sighed and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I am NOT dating him. I've hardly known Falcon for a week! We're both bounty hunters. Bounty hunters do NOT fall in love. There is nothing- NOTHING- between us. I barely even like him!"

_I barely even like him!_ Everything Samus had said stung the racer. Bounty hunters weren't supposed to fall in love, he knew that... but being stuck in the middle of nowhere, he was really only being recognized as a fighter for the BRS... and the fighters were allowed to show affection for each other, weren't they? He was also an F-Zero pilot, and as evidenced by his fellow racers Super Arrow and Mrs. Arrow, the racers were allowed to have relationships... Surely he could at least have some feelings for her, couldn't he? Couldn't he be an exception for her? After those flaming words had burned a hole in him, he figured not...

She walked out of the common room nonchalantly. "I'm glad that's over with..."

_Over with? _Bowser snickered. _I'd say this is far from over, my dear..._

Captain Falcon walked over to the corner of the room with a sigh, leaning his head against the wall glumly. _What have I done?_

"I guess Falcon's taking this harder than Samus thought..." Marth sighed. "So much for team spirit..."

Link's ears shot up. "TEAM SPIRIT!! Marth, that's right! Our match is next!!"

**---------------------------**

At last, the team battle that reviewers had more than likely been waiting for had finally arrived!!

**--------------------**

**bijoukaiba: Well, I think that's a good place to close for tonight! See you next chapter!**

**Diddy Kong: Oh no you don't! (swings a blender at her) You've left us in waaay too much suspense, plus the chapter's still puny!**

**Malon: DIDDY, NO!!! WE NEED THAT FOR SMOOTHIES!!**

**Donkey Kong: I like crushed pineapples in my smoothies! (smiles)**

**bijoukaiba: (gets hit by a pineapple thrown at her by Diddy) Fine, fine! I'll continue writing!**

**Donkey Kong: Yummy. (licks pineapple out of the author's hair)**

**-----------------------------**

After wiping up some pineapple that had fallen off the keyboard (given to Donkey Kong, naturally) and the author had washed Spongebob's house out of her hair, she was ready to begin the rest of the chapter!

Marth and Link were clad in their red tunics, and Pikachu and Fox were clad in a blue party hat and a blue-violet jacket respectively.

As they stepped onto the Termina arena, a triumphant theme song could be heard playing.

_It fits the swordsmen to a T! _Ness thought with a grin.

On the Termina arena, the main stage was divided into four parts. On the left side, a small raft was floating in the water. A jump above it was a large deck made of metal. To the right of that, was another metal deck just below the larger one. A pretty normal arena, with the exception of a turtle carrying a whole island on its back!

Link landed on the far left side of the larger deck; Pikachu landed on the right. Fox landed on the platform right next to the turtle (he was a bit freaked out when it blinked at him) and Marth landed on a palm tree on the turtle's "island-covered" shell.

"BEGIN!!" Master hollered.

Fox immediately leapt forward and delivered an aerial kick to Marth's hips. At the same time, Link had shot out his hookshot to grab Pikachu, punched the electric Poke'mon, and kicked it behind him. Upon landing, Pikachu attempted to headbutt Link, but the elf dodged behind it. Pikachu wisely turned around and managed to headbutt Link.

After taking the kick to the hips, Marth delivered a heavy swing of his sword underneath Fox's chin, who retaliated by returning with a punch. Link sword-slashed Pikachu, who retaliated by throwing out a heavy jolt of thunder. Link managed to dodge in the nick of time, feeling static electricity crawling on the hairs of his neck.

Marth delivered another sword swipe to Fox, before swinging his sword down heavily onto the vulpine's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Link delivered a side sweep to Pikachu's arm, then dodged behind it to deliver two more slashes and a heavy strike.

Fox was kind enough to return the heavy blow Marth had dealt him by punching him twice then pummeling the prince with a barrage of kicks. The prince dodged out of range then slashed him from behind.

"Wow!" Mario commented as Pikachu rammed Link with a heavy skull bash attack. "The fighters are-a moving so fast-a you can barely keep up-a with them!"

Fox punched, Marth dodged away and slashed. Link struck Pikachu twice just as Fox swept his tail against Marth's heels, sweeping him up into the trees. Link turned around for a brief moment to make sure Marth was still okay, before hammering Pikachu in a barrage of jabs from the Master Sword.

Fox leapt up and kicked Marth, knocking the swordsman back into the air. Marth swung his sword swiftly around his body twice, smacking Fox in the mouth, but he was able to counter with yet another aerial kick.

_Okay, time to finish this! _Link decided.

He smashed Pikachu off the deck with his sword, but a lucky jump out of the water allowed Pikachu to clutch onto the small raft. Upon climbing back up, Pikachu gave out its famous battle cry, stretching its cute and tiny paws towards the heavens.

"PIIKA!!" (THUNDER!!) The Poke'mon shouted as it summoned a thunder cloud and a heavy bolt of lightning. Link took a huge leap backwards, avoiding the bolt. After the mini-storm subsided, Link leapt down onto the platform and whirled his body around rapidly, creating a blinding vortex of power which knocked Pikachu out of the arena.

Proudly, Link brushed his golden bangs away from his eyes.

"Aah..."

A second later, he felt the raft quiver slightly from a wave of water. The turtle was descending underwater.

_Can't leave my partner alone!_ Link remembered, whipping out the Master Sword as Marth and Fox landed safely on the small metal platform near the turtle's floating spot. He leapt onto the deck and began running back to the fray of battle.

Marth and Fox were trading sword swipes and punches now. Right after Marth had taken a decent punch to the lip, Link leapt down and attempted to kick Fox away. His positioning had been awkward, however, and the Hylian missed, completely, falling into the water and out of bounds.

"Oh dear, poor Link!" Zelda worried.

Now it came down to Fox and Marth. Sweeping his sword in a vertical arc, he knocked Fox into the water between the raft and their small platform of battle.

"That was for Link!" Marth declared. Fox charged up a Firefox attack, attempting to ram Marth off the platform, but the witty prince performed a rolling dodge at the last second. Fox was forced to take a belly flop into the ocean, just like Link before him.

"AAUGH!"

"GAME!" Master shouted as several of the smashers applauded for Marth and Link. "THIS GAME'S WINNER IS... RED TEAM!!!"

Link swiped out his sword in front of him with a short cry, before spinning himself around and facing the camera, standing back to back with the prince.

Marth sheathed Falchion and faced the camera with a confident smile.

"Konkai wa boku no kecha da, ne?"

What was interesting, Zelda noticed, was they had both faced the camera at the same time.

_Swordsmen intuition, I suppose..._

Stepping out from the elevator, Marth was holding Pikachu in his arms as it spoke to him in Poke'mon-ese or something.

"Chu! Pika pika?" (Marth! What did you say?)

"It means 'It appears I'm the winner, doesn't it?'."

Fox and Link were shaking hands like pretty much everyone else had done with their opponents and allies. It was good sportsmanship, duh.

Pikachu leapt out of Marth's arms and Fox of course had gone off to chat with a certain Princess of Hyrule.

Almost spontaneously, Marth threw his arms around Link's waist, hugging him.

"What an awesome fight! I hope we can be partners again someday, Link!"

Link's face was beet-red as he felt Marth's head lean against his chest.

"Yeah, same here..." he gently removed Marth's arms around him.

"That's kind of an awkward thing to do in public..." Link whispered. Marth also flushed red as well.

"Oops, gomen. Sorry..."

"That's okay, at least Bowser didn't see!" Link laughed. "C'mon, let's go eat dinner!"

"But Link, dinner is still two hours away..."

The two swordsmen walked off down the hallway, having a friendly argument with plenty of laughter. Link and Marth were becoming fast friends...

... cough...

**-------------------------**

Link had decided to sit with Ness and Marth for dinner that night. Even though Ruby had made salmon, one of Link's favorite dishes, he had barely touched his food. The moments after his battle were still floating around in his head.

_C'mon, snap out of it! You love fish! Eat! Before it gets cold! Stop thinking about the hug!_

_It was no big deal, it's not like it meant anything! Marth was just excited._

_It doesn't mean anything to you! Now eat! Ness is trying to sneak off with a piece with extra sauce!!_

Link drilled his fork down on top of Ness's, which had a piece of rich, pink fish on the end topped with extra sauce. The younger boy laughed awkwardly.

Did it really mean anything to him?

"Link, are you going to finish your salad?" Marth asked. Link jumped slightly in surprise.

"Go ahead and take it," Link muttered, passing the bowl to Marth.

As brownies were being passed around for desert, Master and Crazy came up to make their usual announcements for battle placements.

"Bub eebnning, varriorf!"

Everyone stared at Master in stupidity.

Master glanced at his brother and began making hand signs, trying to signal something. Confused, Crazy slapped his brother across the face. Master slapped him back.

"Birk! By deed birk!"

Good thing clever Miss Malon was there. She stepped onto stage and handed Master a bottle of fresh Lon Lon Milk. He took a few gulps and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He's not so great with table manners...

"Ruby's brownies were a little too chewy and sticky for me tonight, but they're too rich to resist! Thank you, Malon, you'll get a raise for that!"

There were a few chuckles heard before Master proceeded.

"As I was trying to say before... good evening, warriors! I see team matches went well today!"

There were several hoots and hollers.

"And here are the current records..."

**Zelda: 4-0 **(Fox and Link were cheering the loudest)

**Donkey Kong: 3-0**

**Marth: 3-0**

**Pikachu: 2-0**

**Samus: 2-2**

**Ice Climbers: 1-2**

**Peach: 2-2**

**Kirby: 1-2**

**Captain Falcon: 2-2**

**Bowser: 1-2**

**Fox: 1-1**

**Link: 2-1**

**Yoshi: 1-2**

**Mario: 0-2**

**Ness: 0-2**

"And here are tomorrow's matches..."

_**Green Greens, 10:00 am:**_

_Samus vs. Donkey Kong_

_**Onett, 10:45 am:**_

_Peach vs. Zelda_

_**Corneria, 11:30 am:**_

_Jigglypuff vs. Bowser_

_**Rainbow Cruise, 1:30 pm:**_

_Fox vs. Captain Falcon_

**CLASSIC MODE: MARTH**

Jigglypuff trembled slightly as the overgrown mutant turtle held up a fork and knife, pointing the fork at her and licking his lips.

"Don't worry," Kirby reassured. "He can't eat anyone, it'd be illegal. Besides, the way you were fighting today, there's no way he could beat you!"

Jigglypuff smiled at him and Kirby blushed.

"Classic mode...?" Link asked, turning to face the prince sitting across from him.

"Yeah!" Marth laughed, modestly rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I forgot to tell you, then..."

_But if Fox met up with Jigglypuff, who or what will Marth enounter? What if it's Ganondorf?_

Link's thoughts were interrupted when two or three other fighters went over to chat with Marth about the classic fight he would be engaging in.

Crazy left the stage, smirking wickedly.

_You've caught another one in your trap, big brother..._

**---------------------------------------------------------**

**CHAPTER 7 COMPLETED!!!**

**Sorry this came so late, I've had school...**

**I'll try to update this sooner next time...**

**Any questions about Swordplay? Put them in your review! However, I'm NOT giving away spoilers... :P**

**Speaking of putting, I finally managed to stick in some shonen-ai this time. Yay. Don't worry, it'll get better in a few chapters...**


	8. Fire in the Swordsman's Eyes

_**Swordplay**_

**Captain Falcon: Cool, I managed to sneak on stage before the author did!**

**Samus: Don't get your hopes up. She's probably gonna be here any second.**

**Any minute now...**

**Give or take, one hour...**

**Captain Falcon: Oh great, what'll we do? I've never hosted anything!!**

**Samus: (clears her throat) Does F-Zero: Falcon Densetsu ring a bell?**

**Captain Falcon: Oh, yeah... but you'll have to be my cohost then!**

**Samus: Oo What?**

**Captain Falcon: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO THIS EPISODE OF SWORDPLAY!!!**

**Samus: Chapter. --**

**Captain Falcon: CHAPTER! YES, THANK YOU!!! WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE'S MY LOVELY COHOST, SAMUS ARAN, WITH THE DISCLAIMER!!**

**Samus: Lovely? (smiles a bit) Anyway, we- uh... (pauses to glance at script) I mean, _bijoukaiba doesn't own Nintendo, Super Smash Bros. Melee, or any of its characters._**

**Captain Falcon: I gotta do this more often:D**

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

**Chapter 8: Fire in the Swordsman's Eyes**

The fateful Thursday had rolled around at last, where Marth would get to have his very own Classic match. Like Fox before him, he was slightly nervous about what would lie before him, so he decided to go with a Very Easy match as well, with five stock.

Marth innocently entered the cafeteria dressed in his green and black tunic. A few people stared at him briefly before going on with their normal lives, eating breakfast. The prince took his share of fried eggs and grapefruit juice before taking a seat with Peach and Link.

"Is it just me, or is everyone staring at me?" Marth asked softly.

"Well, you certainly look heroic today, quite fitting for the challenge you're up against today!" Peach commented. Marth's cheeks flushed with a pale pink tint at her compliment

"I think they're worried about you," Link stated. "Remember, last time Fox went entered this, he ended up facing a mysterious new opponent. Same thing happened to Pikachu. There's still no telling what you'll be up against. Some of us have enemies with incredibly impressive power. Fox has Andross, Samus has Ridley, Kirby has Dedede, though I doubt a penguin could be dangerous, and Zelda and I have Ganondorf."

"I see what you're saying; it could also be Medeus or Hardin. But what if the opponent isn't an enemy, but a friend? What if it was someone, say, like the Daisy or Saria girls I've heard about, or Oguma? If it is a friend and not a foe, they will need someone there for reassurance, for trust. That is why I believe we still fight subconsciously, whether we realize we could be putting our lives in danger or not. Not only that, but we were born warriors." Marth replied.

"You might not even fight anyone at all," Peach commented, dabbing her mouth daintily with a napkin.

Link and Marth glanced at each other simultaneously.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see..."

**----------------**

Guess what Donkey Kong's strategy was in his match against Samus? Yep. He kept throwing her off the edge of Green Greens until she had accumulated enough damage, then grabbed her once more.

"Keep trying, DK," she sighed. "It's gonna take a long time to get me out of range, and you're gonna be getting a lot more punches." With that, she smacked her rocket-launching arm against his nose. A definite nose-bleeder, if the smashers could be hurt. Several of the fighters watching even flinched after the hit.

"Okay, you crossed the line there!" The simian grunted, this time turning around and hurling her at the wall of bombs. Samus's head made direct contact with one, and her damage percentage was increased 16. DK swung his fists down like hammers and smashed Samus off the screen, disappearing as a star.

"GAME! This game's winner is... DONKEY KONG!!" He pounded his chest proudly in victory.

Samus walked out, appearing slightly wobbly. Captain Falcon had to run over and catch her from falling over almost immediately upon her exit. A few smashers appeared worried. Donkey Kong hung his head in guilt, but Zelda patted his arm, reassuring him it might not be from his attacks. And if the fight was the cause of her dizziness, it was merely an accident.

"Are you okay?" Captain Falcon asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Samus reassured. Her anger at him had cooled down after yesterday. "I think I hit my head a little too hard... I'm a little dizzy, but I've got a splitting headache."

She tried to regain her footing and take a few more steps, only to collapse again, with her fellow bounty hunter ready to catch her again.

"Then you're definitely not okay, if you're feeling dizzy, Samus. Come on, we'll get something from the medical supply room for that." He lifted her arm around his shoulder and helped support her up to the third floor.

"Puff ig jigglypuff," (What a gentleman,) Jigglypuff remarked.

Bowser had a toothy grin on his face. He was writing down something on a sheet of paper, but only the readers could see it.

_IDEAS FOR BLACKMAIL_

**------------------------------------**

Peach appeared slightly nervous about her next fight.

_Zelda is undefeated and she has the most wins! What if I can't do this?_

"Peach?" Mario walked up to her in the hallway, the two of them alone. "Are-a you troubled by-a something?"

She sighed. "I just really want to win this match... Zelda's undefeated, so I'm a little unsure of myself,"

"That's-a no way to think-a!" Mario blurted. "What-a I mean is, it's a visualization-a thing. I saw it-a on a golf video-a once. You have to-a picture the ball-a going in the hole-a!"

"So, if I believe I can win... there's no way I can fail!"

"Of-a course! Although I've-a tried the mental-a picture thing, but-a I haven't won any-a matches yet!" Mario smiled briefly. "And-a anyway..."

He gently took the princess's hands into his own.

"I believe in-a you."

She was about to thank him, when she heard Master make the announcement for the match to begin. Thank goodness, enough with the cheesy filler details! XP

Peach and Zelda, both wearing a pink dress, entered the city arena of Onett.

Zelda started out with her trademark Din's Fire technique. Peach dodged and floated over to Zelda, delivering a barrage of kicks.

"Yeah, Peach!" Mario cheered, pumping a fist into the air.

"Come on, Zelda! You can beat her! Let's go for 5-0!" Fox chanted in reply.

Zelda tried to shock Peach with a burst of magic, but Toad was there to reflect the magic back onto the Hyrulian princess. She flipped down into the road, just as a large black van came speeding by. She was thrown against one of the houses. Fox cringed at the sight. Peach leapt down and swiped the sharp edges of her crown at Zelda, who ducked in the nick of time to deliver a powerful lightning kick to Peach's stomach. She took a heavy increase in damage and was sent a fair distance away from Zelda.

She shook her head and leapt back into the fray, exchanging slaps, magic, turnips, and crystal barrages with the Hyrulian princess.

It seemed hard to take notice of traffic. Zelda seemed to flee from battle after taking a powerful swat to the neck, but she was using Farore's Wind to merely avoid being struck by a pink car. Peach was thrown atop the clothesline in Onett.

"I hope that's not my laundry hanging there!" Ness jested. Unfortunately for him, everyone was so entwined in the battle scene they ignored his lame joke completely.

Zelda leapt forward as Peach got to her feet, preparing to strike her foot forward to her chest. A lightning kick for the finishing move.

_Like a golf video, picture the ball rolling into the hole..._

Peach pulled out a golf club from her weapons arsenal that appeared from nowhere. She positioned herself, ready to swing the club. She had to swing it fast and far out enough so Zelda couldn't extend her leg to complete the kick. The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom narrowed her eyes, waiting for the precise moment.

Zelda's knee twitched, preparing to stretch. Peach squeezed her eyes shut and she swung the golf club with all her might. It collided heavily with Zelda's hip bone. She wailed as she flew off the screen in a similar fashion to Samus. Peach twirled around on one foot and winked at the camera.

"Suh-weet!!"

"GAME!!" Master shouted. Even he appeared shocked that Zelda had lost her first match. "Uh, this game's winner is... PEACH!!!"

She folded her hands innocently and gazed upward happily, modestly asking, "Oh, did I win?"

Upon exitting the elevator, the first thing she did was sweep up Mario in a hug.

Zelda congratulated her politely and walked up to Fox.

"I can't believe you lost!" he exclaimed. "You didn't go easy on her, did you?"

"Of course not!" Zelda responded. "I treat all my opponents with respect. Even for someone as cruel as Bowser or as innocent as Pikachu, I still treat them as powerful opponents and prepare myself for the worst. That's why one should always fight their best. However, there's only one of my opponents I respect slightly more, though,"

"Who's that? Link?"

Zelda gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You."

**----------------------------**

Jigglypuff and Bowser's match didn't go quite as well as Kirby had predicted yesterday. She ran up to Bowser and immediately fell asleep. But nothing happened. The koopa king appeared confused at first, then snatched her up in his claws immediately and began gnawing upon her marshmallow-like body before he tossed her aside. Thinking resourcefully, Jigglypuff grabbed a Poke'ball and hurled it at Bowser, releasing the most feared Poke'mon in the game.

Moltres? No. Lugia? No. Ho-Oh? Hell no.

Goldeen. The minute that worthless Poke'mon was summoned, Jigglypuff knew she was doomed. It only got worse when Bowser found a Bomb-Omb. I think you know what happened next...

"JIGGLYPUUUUUFF!!!" (WOE IS MEEEEE!!!)

Kirby ran up to Jigglypuff after the match. She appeared fairly depressed about the results of her match, and Bowser's boasting only made it worse.

"I don't get it. What happened out there? Why'd you fall asleep like that?" he asked.

"Jigglypuff. Ig jig iggly jigpuff jigglypuff puff puff, ig iggly ig puff jiggly, puff jig ig puff jiggly." (I don't know. I felt such a huge surge of power in me, and after I fell asleep, I felt it all release.)

"Ya know what? Jigglypuff must be pretty cocky and stupid!" Bowser was shouting to the others, loud enough so Jigglypuff could hear. "She must've thought she could beat me in her sleep, but she had her facts wrong! It's the other way around!!"

Kirby frowned at him, then escorted the Poke'mon puffball from the room.

"Do you wanna get some lunch now, Jigglypuff?" he asked.

**-------------------------------------**

Popcorn chicken, a house salad with honey mustard dressing, and a light chocolate pudding were distributed for lunch that day. Marth took only a few spoonfuls of pudding before falling in love with it.

"I still can't believe how tasty the food from the future is!" He spooned down another glob. "Sometimes, I wish..."

Link lowered his spoon. "Wish what?"

Marth smiled and shook his head. "It's selfish thinking on my part, but I wish there was someway we could stay here forever... there's only friendly fighting for entertainment, the food is great, and we've had a steady increase in the number of new friends we're making," he paused for a moment and waved Ness over to sit with him. "Do you know what I mean?"

Link smiled as he watched Fox and Zelda laughing, apparently over something the vulpine had said.

"I think I do. Hyrule's been in danger several times in the past and it's always been my duty to save the day. It's even harder for Zelda, because she's the heir to the throne in danger. And when I see her so happy like this... I want to stay even more. I'd give anything if she could live a normal, happy life like she has now. Sometimes I wonder if she'll invite Fox to return to Hyrule with her..."

"That's because Fox loooooves Zelda!" Ness joked.

Link tried to hide a grin and Marth frowned at Ness.

"There's no way to tell for certain, my friend." Marth argued.

"Ever since they fought each other in the first match, he's been attached to her. She did seem pretty worried about him in Classic mode, and he's followed her everywhere like a mind slave since she hugged him." Link debated.

"It's probably safe to say Fox has something for her, but I think it's debatable if her feelings are returned. I don't know Zelda's heart, then again..." Marth added. "All I hope is neither of them have their hearts broken by the other..."

**---------------------------------**

"Samus is really feeling that bad?" Marth asked. He was sitting on the edge of Captain Falcon's bed, which had navy blue bed sheets as well, with a pattern of red falcons on it. They closely resembled the falcon emblem he had on his helmet.

"Yeah," Captain Falcon responded from his closet, where he was changing clothes. "Joy recommended that she rests until at least dinner, despite her lack of knowledge in human medicine."

He finished changing and stepped out, clad in his green body suit. "I think this'll be fine for my match! Pass me my helmet, will you?"

"Sure!" Marth replied, handing him the brown helmet next to him on the bed. He paused briefly. "I've never seen you without your helmet."

Captain Falcon flicked some of his brown hair away from the scar over his left eye. "Yeah, I wear it all the time... I guess it's just a habit." He replaced the helmet and smiled.

"Wish me luck in my match!"

Marth grinned. "You know I always do."

**(A/N: Yes, this means I'm using Captain Falcon's appearance from the anime. If you want a better idea of his anime appearance, search for the "Falcon Punch" video on Youtube. Personally, I think he's extremely handsome and very heroic:3)**

**-------------------------------------**

Fox had been spamming his blaster gun on Captain Falcon throughout their match, but he kept holding out strong, managing to deliver some kicks of decent power to the vulpine. Captain Falcon delivered two heavy kicks in a row to Fox's jaw, launching him upwards. The bounty hunter leapt up as well, forcefully kneeing Fox in the side. He made a painful yell and was hurled off the arena. Falcon's knee was so powerful it had produced shockwaves upon impact.

"GAME!!" Master announced. "This game's winner is... CAPTAIN FALCON!!"

Captain Falcon performed a roundhouse kick before kneeling upon the ground as a sign of victory.

Master seemed to assume a bored state as Captain Falcon and Fox exitted the elevator.

"Anyway... this means it's time for your Classic match, Marth. Yeah. So, here's the line-up for you..."

**Link**

**Ice Climbers**

**Captain Falcon**

**Jigglypuff**

**Bowser**

**Yoshi**

**Mario**

**Fox**

**Peach**

**Zelda**

**Ness**

_Best of luck, bastard._ Master thought with a smirk, leaving the building. He was going to let Crazy handle the announcements this match.

Marth stepped into the empty elevator.

"Okay, first up! Marth versus Yoshi!"

Marth found himself transported to the Yoshi's Island stage.

Yoshi leapt down upon Marth, barraging him with kicks. Marth switched his blade against his chest, awaiting an attack. Yoshi attempted to kick him again, when Marth whipped the blade forward, striking Yoshi in the snout to counter the kick. Then he swung the blade down Yoshi's head, the tip of it spiking him with considerable strength. He was nearly hurled off the edge of the arena, but Yoshi's impressive jumping ability allowed him to recover easily.

Marth dashed forward and elegantly swept his blade in front of him, forcing Yoshi into the air, then slashing at him from behind. Yoshi wailed as he flew off the screen.

Crazy nodded as the score display appeared on screen, then beckoned Zelda, Link, and Peach into the elevator.

"ROUND 2!!!" The screen displayed Marth and Link as allies, who knew? They were fighting against Peach and Zelda in Hyrule Temple.

"If you don't want to fight her, I'll combat Zelda!" Marth offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks!" Link replied. "I've been her ally for seven years and now I wanna know how she REALLY fights!!"

Zelda rolled her eyes at her old friend's humor.

Peach was still feeling pretty confident since her match with Zelda.

"Don't worry sweetie, leave everything to me!" She ran forward, taking a strike from Marth's blade then shoving the prince backwards, toppling him. Link leapt down and spiked his sword heavily into Peach's shoulder. He drove his sword at her twice, but it knocked her backwards enough to put her in range of hitting Marth.

"I hate to do this to you! I really do think you're cute!" Peach whispered.

"Don't let Mario hear you say that!" Marth hissed.

Peach grinned. "That's why I have to do this!"

She grabbed Marth with one hand and slapped him across the face twice, before throwing him behind her towards Link. He caught the delicate prince in his arms, also being shoved backwards slightly on impact.

"Gotcha!"

"Thanks," Marth replied, appearing bashful. "DUCK!" He shoved Link to the ground and ducked as well, watching the fiery results of Din's Fire inches above their heads.

"Okay, go take Peach, I'll get Zelda." Marth replied. "You seem to be better off fighting her than I am."

"Right!" The swordsmen exchanged a hi-five before switching directions and fighting their new princess opponents. Marth barraged Zelda with a series of aerial strikes from his blade, before knocking her off the side of the field.

He turned around and dashed back to help Link. Peach had grabbed onto him and was preparing to slam him onto the ground when Marth's forward aerial slash broke her grip and Link rolled to safety. Peach's damage percentage had risen very high since the start of the battle- it was now at 121!!

Marth made a cute, innocent smile at Link. "Shall we finish her off now?"

Link grinned. "Let's."

Peach growled playfully. "You silly swordsmen, what are you- WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

Marth and Link swung their blades upon her at the same time, catapulting her into the sky.

"See ya!" Link laughed.

"Sayonara!" Marth added.

Just as Marth was starting his target test, Link, Zelda, and Peach left the elevator. Now LINK was the one feeling confident. Did I say confident? I meant cocky.

"Woo-hoo! Did you see the way we totally obliterated you?!"

Peach rolled her eyes and walked off with Zelda. As Marth smashed a target, an idea smashed into Peach's head.

"Hey! Why don't we ask Ruby to borrow the kitchen for a bit and bake a get-well-soon cake for Samus? I'm sure you're a great chef, Zelda!" Peach suggested.

Captain Falcon, overhearing this, frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea," he contradicted. "Samus really isn't feeling very well and she just wants to rest. You should probably leave her alone. Not only that, but if she IS developing an illness, I don't think she wants to pass it on to either of you."

Zelda glanced over at Peach. "He has a point. But I still thought it was a nice idea, Peach."

Marth could be heard making a small shout in the background as he tumbled off the arena, barely missing his final target. Several groans were heard as well.

"Aww, come on!" Peach groaned. "What if we just dropped the cake off and left? That wouldn't hurt, would it?"

"Hmmm... well, I suppose if you're really quiet and leave quickly, you could-"

"Yay! Thanks, Captain Falcon!" Before Zelda could even blink, Peach had grabbed her by the arm and dragged her off to the kitchen.

_They better not cause any trouble... _Captain Falcon (with an anime sweatdrop, naturally) thought with a sigh.

"Hey! Captain Falcon!!" Crazy shouted. "The Ice Climbers just went down! It's time for your match!!"

Marth, Ness, and Captain Falcon had been teamed up for taking down a GIANT Bowser. Yes, it was the infamous Super Mushroom Soup created by Ruby that had rocketed Bowser's growth rate exponentially. Okay, enough nerd talk. XD

Bowser had grown large enough to take up the right half of Princess Peach's Castle by merely standing.

"Damn, and I thought he was huge before!" Captain Falcon muttered, leaping into battle alongside his sword-wielding and PSI-gifted allies.

"FALCON KICK!!" Captain Falcon started the match by delivering an aerial variation of his infamous kick, which barreled down against the giant Koopa's neck.

"PK THUNDER!! WHOAAA!!!!" Ness charged his thunder move powerfully enough to charge him against Bowser's belly, delivering decent knockback and heavy damage.

Marth leapt in with a Dancing Blade combo, shouting to his comrades, "Let's finish him off in a trio!" The prince leapt backwards and began to charge his Shield Breaker technique on the highest pillar on the castle. Captain Falcon used a Raptor Boost to send Bowser into the air. Ness leapt up next and sparked some PSI on Bowser, knocking him backwards into a fully charged Shield Breaker. It was impressive to see the overgrown koopa spiraling off in the sky.

On Marth's trophy collecting stage, he collected a trophy of what appeared to be an elephant holding up a sign of some kind, one with an elderly looking rabbit dressed similarly to Fox, and a trophy of a Goldeen.

"Wow, one of those trophies looked just like my pal, Peppy! I swear!" Fox commented.

Jigglypuff was next to fight Marth. He finished her off quickly.

Now Mario was given nine clones of himself to combat Marth. He performed a different combo to kill off each clone.

When Marth navigated through the same labyrinth as Fox had, he ventured out even further, earning bonus points.

Speaking of Fox, he had been given a metal coat to combat Marth. Despite the added weight, Fox was still impressively limber. Marth had nearly been thrown from the stage twice before finally knocking Fox from recovery range.

Now came the part Fox feared.

"You guys will NOT believe what you're about to see."

As Marth landed upon the empty, black stage, a massive white glove twisted and writhed, laughing wickedly. The prince appeared taken aback for a brief moment, then resumed a more courageous state. It was time to start the battle!

Marth leapt forward, swiping his sword against the knuckles of the hand. Its HP dropped from 150 to 138. Marth added in two strikes from Dancing Blade combo to lower the HP to 131. Now the giant hand had its turn to attack, flying into the air then returning as a giant fist. Marth countered quickly, lowering the damage further to 125. Next, the prince charged some energy and thrust his sword upward, creating massive damage upon the hand. Its damage fell to 101. He released a shield breaker attack (for 94 damage) quickly so he could dodge a sweeping attack. He landed two more forward aerial assaults, to bring the sum of the hand's damage down to 68.

"Impressive!" Fox marveled. "He hasn't taken a single point of damage yet!"

The hand began to spew lasers from the tip of its fingers. One of them managed to spew against Marth's cheek, raising his damage to 6.

"I believe you stand corrected," Kirby stated.

Not letting it hold him back, Marth leapt forward with another frontal aerial assault, then performed a backflip, swinging his sword in an arc parallel to his graceful and lithe body. He leapt up once again and swung the sword around his body twice. The hand's damage was lowered to 29. Marth charged another stabbing thrust and delivered it fast for a decent 20 damage.

"Yeah, Marth!!" Captain Falcon cheered. "He's no longer in the double digits!"

"FINISH HIM!!" Bowser roared.

Marth flicked his sword in front of him twice nonchalantly, lowering the HP to 0. The hand made a familiar screaming and roaring sound as it flew off in the background.

"I think it's being a little overdramatic," Link muttered. "Like when Crazy's hand was hit by the baseball."

After a few moments of displaying Marth's score, the minigame of firing at random targets started. Marth had poor accuracy, but he could rapidly fire the gun to hit targets within his range multiple times. He finished with a score of 76 targets. A movie of Marth's impressive speed, lithe movements, and incredible swordplay was displayed, before showing a picture of Marth performing a fully-powered shield breaker assault.

"Congratulations!!" Crazy cheered. He flicked on a button on the communicator in his pocket. _Sucker..._

The screen faded away, only to return with a familiar screen with a blue background and the letters "A NEW CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED".

"Marth!" Link cried, as several of the other fighters gasped.

**-----------------------------------------------**

Marth stepped down onto the dirt roads in Hyrule Temple.

"Is this a bonus match?" He questioned the atmosphere.

Silence. And then...

"SHINI!!!" A blade of flames arched forward against Marth's chest. The prince was thrown backwards, whipping out his blade. The opponent running towards him had red hair to match the flaming power of his sword.

_He... he speaks the same language I did!_

He threw his blade forward in a powerful arch, knocking the red-head back. Marth leapt up and whipped his blade forward once more, smashing him backwards.

_Communicate, Marth! Communicate!!_

With a roar, the red-head swordsman threw his blade forward.

"MATTE!" the prince cried.

Too late. The blade struck Marth's shoulder and he was shoved backwards.

_He won't listen... I have no choice but to fight back!_

Marth unleashed a heavy combo of aerials similar to those he pulled off when fighting the giant hand. The new fighter's damage rose heavily, and he was having a harder time striking the blue-haired swordsman. What Marth lacked in power, he made up for with speed.

Just as the newcomer was deducing this, Marth dodged behind him and heavily slashed him up into the air. The newcomer was sent howling through the air.

"Gomen nasai!" Marth shouted.

The arena fizzled out from behind him and he oddly found himself in the elevator heading down to the base floor. When the doors opened he found Link awaiting him.

"Link!" he exclaimed.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" the elf sighed. He placed his hands on Marth's shoulders. "I was... worried."

"I'm okay, really. Not a scratch on me! Before you ask, my opponent was a red-haired swordsman that wielded a sword with the power to unleash fire. Do you know anyone like that?"

Link thought for a moment. "Did he have dark, ugly greenish-gray skin? Big, ugly nose? Covered in stupid looking robes and jewelry? Smells like a cow pie? Did he have a voice like the offspring of a cow and frog?"

Marth blinked at him in confusion. "Umm... no..."

"Hmmm..." Link mused, rubbing his chin. "Then that rules out Ganondorf. I have no idea."

**----------------------------------------------------**

"Ooooh!!! I can't wait to see the look on her face!!!" Peach giggled.

"Peach, keep it down!" Zelda warned. "We're just dropping off the cake and maybe saying hi. That's it."

"Pssh. Whatever!" She opened up the door to Samus's room. She was sitting under the covers of her bed, dressed in a red leather tank top and blue jeans. She had been reading an action-adventure novel known as The Falsebound Kingdom. I swear, I love making allusions!

"Samus!!" Peach squealed. "How are you feeling?"

She removed her reading glasses and closed her novel.

"Oh, much better. I've taken some medicine to reduce the headache, and I should be fine by dinner. Hey, what smells so good?"

Peach grinned, holding the treat out to her. "We baked you a cake!!"

Samus folded her arms and smirked.

"Did Falcon put you up to this?"

Zelda shook her head, replying, "No, this was all Peach's idea. Captain Falcon was actually against the idea, he was worried we might disturb you."

Peach giggled. "He's so serious sometimes, it's funny! It's also pretty cute how much he worries about you..."

Samus rolled her eyes. _Don't remind me..._

"But seriously, though, he hopes you feel better soon," Zelda commented. "Everyone- well, except for maybe Bowser, of course- does. Marth, Kirby, Pika-"

Zelda froze as a bright flash of light could be seen outside Samus's window. The other two women had failed to see it. Samus looked at Zelda, confused.

"Something wrong?" the bounty huntress asked.

Zelda blinked and shook her head. "N-no, I just remembered there's something I was supposed to do right now. Sorry, Samus, I have to go!"

She closed the door behind her.

"I wonder what's up with her?" Peach questioned. Samus shrugged.

Zelda ran down the hallway.

_What was that flash of light anyway?_

She exitted at the first floor and turned her head in the direction of the battle tower. It was just as the princess suspected.

The room was back.

She cautiously stepped up to it, twisting the door open. Just like the previous two times, the room dissolved away into nothingness. Left in its spot was a young man, slightly younger than herself, lying on the ground.

_A new fighter?_ Zelda considered for a moment. She knelt upon the ground beside him and gently shook his shoulders, trying to rouse him.

He blinked briefly, revealing bright blue eyes similar to Marth's, but brighter. They demonstrated more energy, more boldness, and mixed with his wild red hair, they showed signs of fiery aggression. When his sight focused, Zelda was the first thing he saw.

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

He gave a shout and rolled out of her grasp, sitting up straight with his sword in front of him.

"A... anata wa dare desu ka?"

Zelda assumed he was speaking the same language as Marth was. Too bad she never picked up on any of it herself. She had to communicate with him somehow. At least get her name across.

"Hello," Zelda said as she slowly stood up. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her. "My name is Princess Zelda."

He cocked his head at her, confused.

"Ore wa wakarimasen. Ore wa... doko desu ka?"

She could tell he wasn't understanding. She simplified it even further.

She pointed at herself and said, "Zelda. Zelda." Then gestured at the swordsman.

He perked up slightly.

"Ore wa Roy!"

Zelda smiled and repeated, pointing at herself. "Zelda," Then pointed back at him. "Ore wa Roy."

He shook his head, then pointed at himself. "Roy. Roy," Then pointed at her. "Zeruda. Zeruda."

He was having a hard time pronouncing the L sound, like Marth had when he met "Rinku".

"I-" Zelda pointed at herself. "-can help you-" she pointed at Roy. "-understand." She pointed at her ears.

Roy eyed her curiously. "Undastand?"

She nodded. "Yes, Roy. Come with me-" she pointed at herself. "To the building." She pointed at the dorms.

He frowned and looked down at his boots.

"Do you trust me?" Zelda asked, offering her hand to him.

Roy gazed up into her eyes. There was no sign of hatred or dishonesty in them.

"H-hai," he agreed, taking her hand and standing up. He sheathed his sword. "Z-Zeruda."

He gently wove her arm into his own and pointed at the dorms. Zelda blushed faintly, then led him up to the dorms.

A heart-broken Fox McCloud had seen everything from the side of the battle tower.

**---------------------------------**

Roy sat down on one of the medical beds, swinging his legs back and forth carelessly as Zelda browsed through the medical cabinet.

"Tylenol? No. Emotion Elixir? No. Ipecac? Yuck, certainly not! Oh, here it is! Translation Water!"

She walked over to Roy, commenting. "I think this is the last bottle."

"Sore wa nan desu ka?" he asked, pointing at the bottle.

"You-" she pointed at him. "Have to drink this." She made a drinking gesture with the closed bottle.

She opened it and placed it in front of him. Roy sniffed the fluid briefly, then took a few sips.

"Hey, this stuff has bubbles in it!" He clamped a hand over his mouth. "Whoa! Listen to me!"

He leapt up, placing the bottle aside. He laughed, "Incredible! Listen to me talk! I never studied this language!!"

Zelda clasped her hands together. "Roy, it really did work! I can understand you!"

Roy clasped his hands over the princess's, making her blush.

"I can understand you too! I cannot thank you enough!"

He frowned slightly.

"But... what will I do for a home? I'll need a place to stay. Somewhere near you. You're the only one who understands me."

Zelda smiled at him. "No, no, it's okay! Everyone will understand you, trust me! And I know how to get you a room here. Follow me."

She gently took his hand and led him downstairs. She pressed a buzzer, calling Joy up to the office.

"Wow, another new face already?" she asked.

Roy's face was beaming. "I can understand her too, Zelda!"

"Translation Water," Zelda whispered with a giggle to Joy. "He really wants a room near mine. Does he have to pick randomly, or..."

"Well, he's technically supposed to pick randomly, but..." Joy winked. "I got it!"

She began pulling out pieces of paper, reading each one and pulling it out, except for one.

Zelda was trying to stifle laughter. Joy was pretty witty!

"Okay, what was your name?"

"Roy!"

"Aren't we cheerful? Please, pick out a number from the box."

He pulled out the only slip of paper remaining and handed it to Joy.

"It's number 20."

Joy smiled and nodded.

"Very well then, you'll be boarding on the fourth floor, along with Kirby, Zelda, and Bowser. You're right next to Zelda's room."

He nodded and bowed slightly before her. "Thank you, Miss Joy."

Zelda nodded her head gratefully at Joy. "I owe you one of Diddy's fruit smoothies," she whispered.

"It's nothing, I can understand when someone has a crush!" Joy replied.

Zelda's face flushed with color. "Crush?! I just met Roy!!"

Joy grinned and giggled slightly. "Actually, I was referring to Roy." Zelda blushed. "But still, it's never too early or too late to-"

"What's with these three little holes in the wall? They look like a face!" Joy and Zelda looked at Roy, who was close to poking his finger into an outlet.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!! ROY, DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!!!" Joy screamed.

He stood up and grinned apologetically. "Okay... sorry."

"Here's your room key," Joy explained, handing him the key. "Zelda, you get the honors of showing around our new friend."

Of course, our sweetheart Roy took Zelda's hand into his own, awaiting his tour.

... Which obviously led to more blushing.

**---------------------------------------------**

Zelda had finally gotten Roy how to understand electricity and plumbing, and explained the rules of the Battle Royale Suites. And of course she showed him where all the rooms were- the bathing rooms, the medical facility, the balcony (where she pointed out the Battle Tower), and she was able to show him around his room.

"Okay, I fully understand how to use a toilet now." He confirmed with a nod. Zelda sighed.

"Good, because that was the last of my peppermints. Why did you have to flush them ALL down?"

He laughed. "I'm sorry, I really couldn't help it. I'm so curious about the way this new world works." Roy glanced at Zelda behind him. "Were you ever this curious upon arrival?"

Zelda shrugged. "I guess I was at the time... now that I understand how it all works, I'm not that impressed."

"You must be a very wise person."

"I... guess you could say that," Zelda replied, rubbing one of her hands shyly over the Triforce symbol on the other one.

"I still have to show you the cafeteria... shall we go?"

"Yeah! I need to know where to get food!"

Zelda led him into the cafeteria and introduced him to Ruby. She was willing to prepare him a small snack: Nothing fancy, just a strip of teriyaki-basted chicken on a kabob. Whenever I'm hungry, I always elaborate about tastier foods. Ruby also offered Zelda something, but the princess politely declined.

Roy was putting down his kabob when he froze suddenly.

"What's wrong, Roy?"

His face showed signs of anger.

"Stay behind me, Zelda."

He leapt forward suddenly, drawing his sword.

Marth and Link had just entered the cafeteria, looking for a soda from Malon.

"Marth, watch out!" Link shouted, pushing the prince aside. He withdrew the Master Sword and was about to strike Roy, when Zelda leapt into the midst of the fight. Link immediately froze and lowered the blade to his side.

Roy dropped his blade in surprise.

"Zelda, why did you stop me? That blue-haired... girl, I think-" He pointed at Marth, who was being pulled to his feet by Link. "- attacked me! I didn't want her to do the same to either of us!"

"Roy, remember when I told you about the rules of fighting? You were supposed to be an opponent to Marth!"

Roy made the "o" shape with his mouth, then walked over to Marth.

"Forgive me, my lady." He apologized, kissing Marth's hand.

Zelda looked pretty angry. Link didn't look too happy either. Marth looked horribly shocked.

"Ummm... I appreciate your apology, but..." he chuckled slightly. "I'm a boy. A prince, too." Marth gently wiped off the back of his hand.

Roy appeared freaked out for a moment, then burst out laughing. He clearly had a decent sense of humor.

"HAHA!! Okay, I understand. I was actually about to ask if "she" was your "girlfriend", my friend!" He chuckled, pointing at Link.

Link blushed, laughing awkwardly, exchanging a confused glance with Marth. "Girlfriend? No, no, nothing like that. He's just a friend. HE is just a friend."

"Why did you want to know?" Zelda muttered.

Ruby glanced at the clock.

"Well, look at the time! I should probably get started with dinner, shouldn't I? We're having tempura for dinner tonight, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it!"

I really think the author needs a snack...

**----------------------------------------**

Roy was welcomed warmly by most- except for Bowser, obviously. Fox gave him a proper greeting, but he still didn't seem quite too happy about Roy's appearance. Especially when he sat next to Zelda.

_ARGH! That's MY seat!!_

He had to settle for a seat with Bowser and Ness, since Jigglypuff and Mario had chosen to sit with Roy and Zelda.

Marth and Link were engaged in an exciting conversation with Kirby. They had no idea Master was announcing the matches for the next day. Fox had been given the day off.

_**Onett: 10:00 am**_

_Samus vs. Ness_

_**Poke'mon Stadium: 10:45 am**_

_Bowser vs. Kirby_

_**Mushroom Kingdom: 11:30 am**_

_Zelda vs. Yoshi_

_**Mute City: 1:30 pm**_

_Roy vs. Pikachu_

_**Termina: 2:15 pm**_

_Jigglypuff vs. Mario_

_**Fountain of Dreams: 3:00 pm**_

_Peach vs. Captain Falcon_

Master continued to read off the list of names and the current records.

"So, Marth, how does it feel, knowing there's another swordsman amidst us?" Link asked, nudging him with his elbow. Marth stared up at the list of fights, a shocked look on his face with a hint of sadness. "Hello? Marth?"

"Oh no..." the prince whispered, without even making eye contact with Link. He continued staring at the screen.

"What, Marth? Did you end up matched against Bowser?"

"No," Marth replied softly. "_Worse._"

"Besides, I got matched against Bowser," Kirby groaned.

"Well then, who? Who could possibly be such a horrible opp-" Link froze as well when he saw the Match-Up screen. "_Oh no..._"

_**HYRULE TEMPLE: 4:30 pm**_

_LINK VS. MARTH_

_**-------------------------------------------------------------**_

**Samus: WHAT... A... CLIFFHANGER!**

**Captain Falcon: WAS THAT EXCITING OR WHAT?!**

**bijoukaiba: (shaking hands with Roy) Welcome to the Battle Royale Suites, dahling. I see you're going to get along well with Zelda... (kissy noises)**

**Captain Falcon: (points at author) HEY! Where were you for the intro?**

**Samus: Yeah! You better have a good reason!**

**bijoukaiba: (awkward grin) I wanted you two to have some bonding time!!**

**Captain Falcon and Samus: THAT'S IT!!!! (Capt. Falcon grabs a Bomb-Omb and Samus grabs a Hammer)**

**bijoukaiba: O.o Ummm... (runs off screaming) PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!**

**Captain Falcon and Samus: GET HER!!!**


	9. No Matter What

**Swordplay**

**Captain Falcon and Samus: (walk in randomly, once more)**

**Samus: (looks around for the author) Oh great, not again...**

**Captain Falcon: Hey, what's this? (picks up piece of paper and reads aloud:**

**"Coolios, I'm approaching 10 Chapters! XD I am WAAAAAAYYY too happy. I might not be great at fanart, but I sure as heck know how to write fanfiction, hooah!")**

**Samus: (shakes her head in despair)**

**Captain Falcon: Samus, I think we're hosting this episode of Swordplay again...**

**Samus: Chapter. (rolls her eyes) I'm NOT doing the disclaimer this time.**

**Captain Falcon: _bijoukaiba doesn't own Nintendo, Super Smash Bros. Melee, or any of its characters._**

**Samus: (packing missiles into her cannon-arm, muttering) Ohhh... just you wait, bijoukaiba... just you wait...**

**--------------------------------**

**Chapter 9: No Matter What**

_**DAY OFF: FOX MCCLOUD**_

_**Onett: 10:00 am**_

_Samus vs. Ness_

_**Poke'mon Stadium: 10:45 am**_

_Bowser vs. Kirby_

_**Mushroom Kingdom: 11:30 am**_

_Zelda vs. Yoshi_

_**Mute City: 1:30 pm**_

_Roy vs. Pikachu_

_**Termina: 2:15 pm**_

_Jigglypuff vs. Mario_

_**Fountain of Dreams: 3:00 pm**_

_Peach vs. Captain Falcon_

_**Princess Peach's Castle: 3:45 pm**_

_Donkey Kong vs. Ice Climbers_

_**HYRULE TEMPLE: 4:30 pm**_

_LINK VS. MARTH_

Marth groaned, grabbing at his hair- delicately, of course. We can't damage such pretty hair.

"I can't believe this is happening to me! I have to fight one of my friends!"

"You think _you _have it bad?" Kirby scoffed. "I'm fighting someone who considers me a delicacy!"

Link frowned slightly. "C'mon... it's not that bad, you guys..."

Marth stood up from the table. "I'm going to forfeit right now."

Link pinched Marth's ear, Gymshipping style, and tugged the prince back to his seat. "Oh no you don't!" he warned. "We are going to have that match. If you forfeit, you'll be the first to do so. You'll be viewed as a coward, a weakling! Bowser would never let you live it down! Why would you want to do such a thing anyway?"

The prince sighed and glanced down at his empty plate. "I don't want to damage our friendship..."

Link placed a gentle hand on Marth's shoulder. "The only way you'd damage our relationship is by forfeiting that match. It demonstrates you doubt your own skill and lack self-confidence. No matter which one of us wins the match tomorrow, we'll still be friends. No matter what."

**-------------------------------------------**

The next morning, Master had made a special announcement.

"This time, we'll be having TWO-stock matches instead of just one-stock! Have fun!"

_So, two chances instead of one this time..._ Link mused, glancing at the prince. _How convenient._

Just before the fighting started, Samus's feelings of dizziness returned, but on a lesser scale. She assured Master, Crazy, and Captain Falcon that she would be fine for her match against Ness. And sure enough she was, despite having lost the first stock in her match. With a powerful smack to the jaw from her cannon arm, Samus ended the match with Ness flying against the camera screen.

_Poor kid, he can't ever seem to win! _Samus thought after watching him go flying.

"GAME!" Master shouted. "This game's winner is... SAMUS!!" The bounty huntress knelt down and shot a row of flames in front of her, nodding confidently, as a sign of victory.

Ness moped out of the elevator. It was rude of him to make such wishes, he knew, but he had hoped Samus's dizziness would have given her a disadvantage. However, she had used homing missiles upon Ness whenever he attempted to pull off an aerial attack of some kind.

_Am I EVER going to win?_ He sulked out of the battle room.

Marth sighed, glancing at Link briefly before he could catch his eyes.

Seven matches left.

**-----------------------------**

After forty-five minutes passed, the second match occured. Predator vs. prey, in the Poke'mon Stadium. Jigglypuff's eyes sparkled brightly.

"Jiggly! Puff Iggly ig jig, puff jig?" (Kirby! Beat Bowser for me, will you?)

Kirby sweatdropped. "Um... sure, no problem..."

He glanced over at Bowser, who grinned and licked his lips at Kirby. Poor little puffball.

It took only two headbutts from the gigantic koopa to send Kirby flying. Kirby had done a decent job of fighting back, however- Bowser's damage had reached 77 before he had been able to hit Kirby once. By the time he had defeated Kirby, his damage had reached 109.

Kirby immediately shifted into his rock form and managed to send Bowser flying off the stage upon his return. Jigglypuff was squealing.

"JIIIIIG! Jigglypuff, Jiggly!" (EEEEEEE! Way to go, Kirby!)

Kirby had waved to the camera, cheering "Hi!" to his audience, but let confidence get the best of him. A Bowser Bomb and several slashes across his body left Kirby flying off the side of the arena. Jigglypuff sighed as Master announced Bowser's victory and Kirby stepped out of the elevator.

"Remember that, you little puffball! NOBODY beats Bowser, King of the Koopas!"

"Yeah," Kirby muttered, rolling his eyes. "Nobody except Mario, Samus, Zelda, and Captain Falcon."

"You wait and see!" Bowser roared in reply. "I'll avenge all my losses to them soon enough! Besides, they probably cheated to defeat someone like _me._"

Zelda, Mario, Captain Falcon, and Samus were glaring at the Koopa. Bowser laughed and walked from the room.

Only six matches left.

**---------------------------------**

Zelda was completely devoured in a loss to Yoshi. He had trapped her in an egg beside the pits, sending her falling in an immobile position. She had nearly been able to escape, but Yoshi had pummel-kicked her into the depths. He repeated his strategy to sweep against Zelda. The green dinosaur was starting to feel better about his previous losses in the past, especially to have defeated Zelda without losing any lives... or taking any damage!

"Oshi hur ararara, hup yoshi oshi hup hur ararara?" (Did you go easy on me, or did you fight me like a real opponent?)

She patted the dinosaur's head. "It's just like I told Fox when I described my match against Peach- I treat all my opponents with equal respect."

"Hur oshi arara yoshi," (I've always respected you too.)

The elevator opened and Zelda and Yoshi exitted. The green dinosaur was instantly congratulated by his best buddy, Mario. Fox and Roy both stepped over to Zelda.

"Well, you did an excellent job fighting," Fox complimented. "That's all that mat-"

"Don't worry, Zelda!" Roy interrupted. "When I meet with Yoshi in battle, I promise I'll avenge you!"

Zelda smiled awkwardly and chuckled softly.

"Hey, back off!" Fox turned his attention on Roy. "I was talking to her first!"

"So? I was vowing to help her feel better!"

"She feels fine, isn't it obvious? I was just paying her a compliment!"

"Oh yeah? Well-" Roy looked up and noticed Zelda had left. "See what you did now? Your arguing stressed her out!"

"See what _I _did?! _You're_ the only one creating stress here! You're the one who started this!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Marth, still worried about a certain match at Hyrule Temple, glanced over at the source of the 'Did not vs. Did too' debate.

_I really hope something like that doesn't happen after my match with Link..._

Five matches left.

**---------------------------------------------**

Greek salad was passed around for lunch that day. Zelda ran to grab a table with Jigglypuff, Mario, and even Bowser just to get away from the squabbling going on between Roy and Fox. The fire-wielding swordsman and the vulpine were sitting together with Link, eating their salad and arguing with their mouths open. Gross.

"Can't-a take the arguing-a?" Mario asked.

"No!" Zelda sighed, putting her hands to her temples. "It's driving me crazy having two boys obsessing over me!"

"Tell me about it," Samus agreed, walking past. "One is bad enough..."

Marth gazed across the room at Link. He was trying to cover his ears to drown out Fox and Roy squabbling at each other over Zelda.

_They're still fighting? I think this is going overboard. I wouldn't ever react that way... and Link's too noble to do so either. Maybe we won't end up arguing afterwards!_

"Attention!" Master called. "Pikachu and Roy, your match will start in five minutes!"

Everyone had begun clearing their trays and plates and passing them to a dish-washing unit. Marth glanced down at his salad. He had been so nervous, he had forgotten to eat.

_At least, I hope not..._

_**--------------------------------------**_

Mute City proved to be a fairly challenging arena for Pikachu. Roy had used many a Flare Blade technique to knock Pikachu off the levitating platform and onto the road, which was racking up heavy damage on the poor little Poke'mon. When the platform stopped roaming for a brief moment, Pikachu dashed over to Roy and grabbed him by the cape, before headbutting him into the air.

"PIIKA!" (THUNDER!!) A strong bolt of electricity fell from the sky and struck Roy across the chest. He took 20 damage, and was flung backwards slightly. Pikachu kicked him with its back legs, adding another 6. Pikachu attempted a Skull Bash torpedo-esque attack, but Roy countered it with a swing of his sword.

"Is it just me, or does he have a similar fighting style to you?" Ness asked Marth. The prince shrugged.

Pikachu managed to use a Thunder Jolt attack for 8 on Roy. The swordsman ran forward, leaping into the air, knocking Pikachu backwards, off the side of the road. Pikachu attempted to use Quick Attack to recover, but a highly-charged Flare Blade knocked it beyond recovery range.

It was almost too shocking to believe, no pun intended. Well, maybe. Pikachu had lost.

Roy twisted his blade then tucked it by his side.

"Kurushi takkatta!"

"Hey!" Peach exclaimed, pointing at the screen. "He says the same things Marth does!"

Marth shook his head. "No, I usually say 'It appears I'm the winner, doesn't it?'. What he just said was, 'It was a tough fight!'."

"Oh, right!" Peach agreed. "I guess I just got a little... lost in translation."

Marth didn't reply, staring at the floor.

Four matches remained.

**---------------------------------------**

Fireballs vs. singing... it was pretty clear who won the match at Termina. Jigglypuff had fallen asleep near Mario close to the end of the match for no apparent reason (once again).

_What is she trying to do? _Mario wondered as she slept by his feet. He politely paused, waiting for her to awaken, then resumed attacking her.

"JIGGLYPUFF!!!" (WOE IS ME!!!) Jigglypuff wailed as she flew off screen on her last stock. The Island Turtle had surfaced just in time to watch the Poke'mon fly off over the moon. Jigglypuff had lost both of her stocks at 78 and 89. Mario hadn't lost any, but was at a high percentage of 132.

**(((A/N: "Hey diddle diddle, Mario and the fiddle, Jigglypuff flew over the moon! The evil koopa laughed to see such a KO, and the elf ran away with the prince!" This has been a random, poorly written rhyme, brought to you by bijoukaiba! Now I better get out of here before Falcon and Samus find me...)))**

"GAME!" Master shouted. "THIS GAME'S WINNER IS... MARIO!!"

The red-clad plumber leapt up, spinning in mid-air, before landing on one knee and holding up a triumphant fist.

"Here we go!" Mario cheered.

Peach and Kirby came running over to them immediately.

"Mario, you did so well!! Jigglypuff, you did good too! But MARIO! That was fabulous!! You didn't even lose a stock! Congratulations!!" The princess squealed. She dragged the plumber off by his arm, complimenting him the entire way.

"She's right! You fought bravely, Jigglypuff!" Kirby complimented, patting her arm. "We just need to figure out something to do about your falling-asleep-in-battle problem. Maybe Zelda could help?"

Jigglypuff frowned.

"Ig jig Iggly puff jigpuff Jigglypuff?" (What does Zelda know about Poke'mon?)

"Hmm... I guess you're right. Maybe Pikachu could give you some advice?"

"Ig... Puff jiggly jigglypuff puff iggly! Jig, Jiggly!" (Hmm... I never considered that before! Thanks, Kirby!) She hugged him tightly, then ran off to find the electric Poke'mon.

Kirby walked past Marth, grinning as he went.

"I am SO smooth..."

Marth chuckled slightly.

Three matches remained.

**--------------------------------------------------**

3:00 rolled around the corner quickly. Captain Falcon and Peach stepped onto the Fountain of Dreams, ready for their match.

"FALCON... PUNCH!" Peach recognized that as his most powerful move, and she knew just how to counter!

"EEK!! SAVE ME, TOAD!!!"

The toadstool of a servant reflected the force of the blow and Captain Falcon was flung backwards, with 26 damage.

"Fine... I can play that game!" Falcon laughed, dashing forward and grabbing her. He kneed her in the stomach twice, before delivering a strike from his palm to her chin, sending her flying slightly upwards. Falcon performed two roundhouse kicks in rapid succession, sending her flying onto the platform above him. He leapt up and backflipped in the air, kicking at her stomach. Peach's damage was now at 44.

She leapt down and barraged him with kicks from her high-heeled shoes. Ouch. Captain Falcon replied with another set of roundhouse kicks. He leapt up into the air and kneed her in the stomach. The force of the attack was so great she was immediately flung off the side of the arena. Peach whited out briefly, then reawakened upon a levitating platform.

_Oh right! This is a two-stock match!_

She leapt down and kicked Captain Falcon some more with her high-heeled shoes. He tried to retaliate by delivering a front kick to her torso, but it seemed to _literally_ go right through her.

_What the...? I forgot, she's currently invincible!_

She plucked a turnip from the ground and hurled it at him, striking him in the neck for 12.

"I'm unstoppable! You can't hurt me!" Peach laughed.

_I don't think that invincibility of yours is going to last long, Princess!_

"FALCON KICK!!" In a trail of flames, Captain Falcon sailed forward, kicking her just below her knees for 14.

"Hey! You actually hit me!" Peach groaned.

"Of course! The invincibility doesn't last forever, otherwise the previous five matches would have never ended!"

"Oh, good point!" Peach laughed.

"FALCON..."

"I completely forgot all about tha-"

"PUNCH!!!"

Peach was once again flung off the side of the screen.

"GAME!!" Master shouted. "THIS GAME'S WINNER IS... CAPTAIN FALCON!!"

Captain Falcon knelt down and held his fists at his side, proudly shouting, "YEAH!!"

Peach was consoled by Mario, whereas Marth and Fox went over and congratulated Captain Falcon. Even Samus threw a smile his way.

Only two matches remained.

**----------------------------------**

Despite valiant efforts from the Ice Climbers, they had been unable to defeat Donkey Kong and his enormous strength. Not only that, but when you accidentally run into a massive version of Bullet Bill... you're pretty much doomed.

Donkey Kong, Popo, and Nana came out from the elevator, with one Ice Climber in the air hanging onto each of Donkey Kong's massive arms. Just because the Ice Climbers are just so irresistably cute like that. (I see you smiling!)

Marth had returned to the common room, dressed in his finest pale blue tunic, snowflake white pants, pearly white boots, and his scarlet and white cape was fitted with a ruby clasp.

"Hey, Marth!" Ness called. "Wow, you look... great!"

"I figured if I was going to fight my best, I ought to look my best as well."

"Why, for your funeral?" Bowser laughed. "Link's going to wipe the floor with you!"

"And what makes you so sure about that?" Captain Falcon asked, defending Marth. "We've only seen each of these swordsmen fight three times! It could go either way! Personally..."

He glanced over at Marth, grinning.

"If I had to, I'd bet money on Marth winning, because he _is _undefeated. I'm not trying to sound insulting to Link, but I think that gives you a slight advantage!"

"Oh, I don't know... I've had easier opponents and before I was a fighter here, I was technically defeated by Pikachu..."

"Are you calling the Ice Climbers, Fox, Samus, and Pikachu easy opponents?"

"Well, no... but I'd just rather say we're even."

At that moment, Link stepped over to the prince and placed a hand on his shoulder. The prince jumped, then turned to face Link. He was blushing from embarrassment.

"Oh, hi Link! Um... did you want to see me?"

"Just wanted to remind you- no last minute forfeits, no quitting in the middle of battle, and no going easy on each other... from either of us."

Marth glanced down at his boots sadly, then returned his focus to Link's eyes.

"I... I know..." he replied softly.

Bowser began making clucking noises. Captain Falcon frowned at him.

"Quit that!" He commanded. "Marth is nothing like that!"

"No, but he will be if he backs down. He'll be a coward... in my eyes." Link stated. He seemed to have turned colder at that instant. Marth felt a shiver go down his spine.

_No... I can't let Link see me like that! I'd never live it down if I ruined the friendship we've begun sharing because of some stupid fight! It's just like he told me..._

The prince's face appeared less uneasy and began reflecting a bit more confidence. The Hero of Time smiled briefly. He had talked him into it.

Link placed his other hand on Marth's other shoulder.

"It's just like I told you..."

"No matter what," Marth repeated at the same time as Link.

"See you in twenty minutes!" The Hylian waved and walked off with Zelda.

"Hey, Link?" Zelda asked, tugging at his sleeve. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, anything..."

Zelda clasped her hands together. "PLEASE," she begged, "DON'T let me eat dinner with Fox and Roy! I can't stand the arguing!"

The Hero of Time raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you have any other reason?"

"That... and the fact we haven't eaten together in a while..."

"Sure! I can agree to that! Hey, do you know what they're serving for dinner?..."

Marth smiled sadly as he watched Link and Zelda walk off.

Only the final match remained... it was coming in twenty minutes...

It was a test of their skills as swordsmen, and a test of their bond as friends...

**---------------------------------------**

_**Click.**_

The minute the second hand ticked over the 12 on the clock, everyone's eyes fell to the door. It was finally 4:30 on the dot. Link was standing by the elevator, awaiting his opponent.

_He chickened out, I knew it! _Bowser thought with a grin.

_Come on, buddy... you're not like this at all! _Captain Falcon inhaled deeply.

"Well, it appears that Marth has decided to forfeit out of cowardice," Master stated. Link sighed, anger on his face with sorrow in his eyes. "Therefore, this game's winner is-"

"WAIT!!"

Everyone perked up to see the prince enter the doorway.

"All right! I knew you'd make it!" Ness shouted with a grin.

Marth smiled at the younger boy, then stepped into the elevator along with his fellow swordsman clad in an emerald-green tunic.

"I made you a promise. I gave you my word. And I intend to fight you as a true swordsman would!" Marth announced triumphantly to Link as they rode the elevator.

"Good, because I'm certainly not holding back on you, even if you are cute- to the ladies, I mean!" Link stuttered slightly on the last part, then he and Marth laughed.

At last, they stepped out onto the arena of Hyrule Temple. There was a significant difference to the music playing; it was faster, more exciting, and featured triumphant trumpets, synthesized tones and dynamic drums.

"I guess this was one of those 'alternate themes' you mentioned, Master?" Ness asked. The battle coordinator nodded. **((A/N: OMG. I am not kidding about this. Either turn on SSBM, go to Hyrule Temple or the Sound Test if you have it unlocked, and turn on the FE music, or download it off Galbadia Hotel. IT TOTALLY ROCKS OUT LOUD WITH THIS PART!! I listened to the music while typing this, so trust me... I know. Okay, gotta run before Mr. You-know-who and Miss You-know-who find me!))**

Link and Marth also noticed the change from the usual melody.

"Hey, this doesn't sound like the Temple theme song..." Marth commented.

"Of course!" Link explained. "Sometimes, different songs play under certain conditions. Don't you get it?"

"Um... get what?"

"This is YOUR battle theme!"

"Oh!" Marth gasped. He felt foolish for not realizing it sooner. "Does it sound okay?"

"Okay?!" Link was laughing a small bit. "This is action-packed! It's got the energy flowing through my veins! This is WAY more exciting than the lame song before it!"

Upon hearing that comment via TV screen, Zelda frowned.

Marth grinned at Link. "Then come on over and show me what you've got! Minna, mitte kure!"

He flicked his sword and swung his hips slightly, then leapt up and slashed his blade forward, earning the first hit in the game. Link quickly retaliated be swinging his foot forward and kicking Marth squarely in the jaw. He was slammed against a pillar behind him. Upon landing, Link tried to swat Marth down again, but the prince gracefully rolled aside and delivered a swooping strike from his blade against Link's left ribs. Link turned around and shot an arrow at the prince, who swept his blade forward in a fast arc to counter the arrow and strike Link at the same time.

"Saseru monoka!" the prince cried. He leapt up again and swung Falchion around his body twice, striking Link with both blows. Link spun himself at rapid speeds, knocking the prince away to a lower room in the temple. Marth returned to his feet quickly and backflipped with his sword swiping parallel to his slender body, just before Link could kick him. When Link landed, he swung his sword heavily in front of himself twice, knocking Marth into the air just above the platform in the lower corridor.

"Oh, he's gone!" Bowser laughed. "The prin_cess _has flown too far to the left to have a chance of getting back!"

Much to everyone's surprise, Marth began swinging his blade rhythmically in a Dancing Blade combo, which slowly inched him closer to the ledge. Link dashed forward with a sweep of his blade, but missed Marth completely. The prince flew into the air back upon the ledge with a Dolphin Slash technique, striking Link in the process as well.

"Come on, Link! You can't expect me to go down THAT easily!" The prince winked and flicked his sword in front of him twice.

_Clink! Clank!_ Steel crashed upon steel, the Master Sword dancing in a duel against Falchion. Link smirked.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less from you, Marth," he replied. He managed to strike Marth twice in their fencing match, while he had only been struck once. "But I have a few tricks of my own!"

As Marth dashed forward for an assault, Link whipped out his boomerang, striking Marth in the forehead. He caught it nimbly and used Marth's moment of surprise to strike him with it again. He attempted a boomerang barrage one last time, but Marth countered it.

"You missed!"

The prince leapt into the air, striking Link with a sweep of his blade as he landed near the Hylian. Link plucked a bomb from his weapons array and hurled it at the prince. It struck Marth with a fiery explosion, knocking the prince slightly backwards, but not enough to completely knock him from the platform. Using the smokescreen to his advantage, Link backflipped onto the passage leading to the smaller room and fired an arrow into the haze, only to realize he had missed. Marth leapt into the air and used his upper aerial strike, leaving his blade parallel to his body.

The elf re-entered the fray, holding his sword at a ninety-degree angle below him and fiercely stabbing Marth in the shoulder. The prince grunted in pain and was flung backwards, managing to grab hold of the ledge on the platform. He kicked his heels against it and leapt into the air, swinging his blade below his knees to strike Link in the back of the neck. The Hero of Time made a small shout from the strike and collapsed onto the ground, then rose again, striking his sword next to his body twice. Marth was sent flying to the right onto the edge of the passageway.

Link attempted to give chase by pointing his sword upwards in a ninety degree angle, but Marth smashed his blade forward and struck Link against the bottom of a pillar hanging out of the roof of their arena.

As Marth leapt down to strike Link, the elf shot his hookshot at Marth and dragged the prince's body to him. Cerulean eyes inches apart from sapphire eyes met briefly for a moment, before Link began hammering his fist into Marth's ribs. He threw the prince's body into the air with less effort than he expected- then again, Marth was very slender and therefore he probably lacked in body weight- and slashed his body up onto the second of two levels just below the main platform in the temple and directly overhead the lower room.

Marth was forced to flip onto his feet rapidly and leap back onto the main platform once again to avoid Link's stabbing blade flying in the air. Link leapt up onto the main platform as well, via the same route Marth had "taken".

"HYAH!" Just as Link had leapt up onto the top level, Marth swung a fully-charged Shield Breaker upon his head. The elf shouted upon impact and was sent flying against the camera screen.

Half of the fighters had taken Marth's side, and the others had taken sides with Link.

"All right!" Captain Falcon cheered. "Marth takes round one!" Samus, Nana, Ness, Pikachu, Mario, Peach, and Jigglypuff were applauding. Notice how most of the _females_ were on Marth's side.

"True, but don't count Link out just yet!" Zelda replied. "He's going to be back, ready to strike Marth down!"

Link leapt down from the levitating platform and dashed over to Marth. The prince was also running towards him, but could sprint much faster. Both swordsmen swept their swords in front of each other at the same time, hitting their opponent as well. Link slid backwards only slightly, whereas Marth was sent flying over to the small gazebo on the left side of the temple. Link ran forward immediately, using Marth's recovery time to his advantage. Both swordsmen leapt into the air, but Link managed to swing his sword first this time. Marth was sent plummeting out-of-bounds at the bottom of the screen at meteor speeds. The prince made a valiant effort to return to the stage with a Dolphin Slash technique, but he was too far below the ledge to grab on.

Zelda, Fox, Roy, Popo, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Yoshi, and even Bowser cheered for Link.

"Link's only taken a little damage!" Kirby cheered. "This match is all tied up now!"

"Ka, pi Pi chuka ka Chu pi ka pi." (True, but I wouldn't count Marth out just yet.) Pikachu debated. "Ka pi chi ka pi pikachu." (He still has a slight advantage.)

Marth returned from the levitating platform with a crescent-shaped sweep of his blade directly below his knees, striking Link onto the entry of the passage below him. Link used his shield and dodged Marth's attacks until the prince's state of invincibility ended.

Hookshot time! Link hammered a fist against Marth's shoulders, then kicked the prince behind him. To combo some extra damage, Link made a short hop into the air and made two kicks behind him, sending Marth to the bottom of the passage. The prince stood up and swung his sword around his body twice, to knock Link away as he recovered from the last hit. He then dashed forward and swept his blade at Link's feet, knocking the elf into the air. The Hylian plucked a bomb from his weapon array and hurled it downward at Marth. He then stuck his sword at a ninety degree angle below him and shoved it into Marth's head. Thank goodness the fighters couldn't actually be hurt in the battles!!

"Thank goodness we can't actually be hurt in battle!" Marth commented to Link as he returned to his feet, striking Link with his sword once. My thoughts exactly, Marth... _exactly._

Cue the fencing. _Clink! Clank! Clang! Clink! Onomatopoeia! _Steel crashed upon steel once more, until Link managed to deliver a high stab to Marth's shoulder, or Marth snuck in a jab under Link's arm to his stomach. After Marth jabbed Link for the seventh time (Marth had only been hit five times), he rhythmically began moving in a Dancing Blade pattern. It was hard to tell who danced more beautifully- Marth or Falchion.

A slash to the torso, a jab to the chest, a poke to the thigh, then multiple strikes to the knees ended Marth's sashaying assault to Link. The elf leapt forward and kicked Marth in the face, then began barraging the prince with ten strikes from the Master Sword, until the prince responded with a counter attack.

"Saseru monoka!" Marth shouted. Link was knocked backwards just enough to fall into the lower room. Marth leapt down, attempting to swing his sword in front of his body to strike Link once more, but the Hylian dragged Marth into another pounding thanks to his hookshot. Marth was punched in the chest five times before being able to break free. He swung his sword at his feet twice, knocking Link backwards a foot.

Link fired an arrow at the prince then began spinning his sword around him at rapid speeds, knocking Marth even further down the lower room to a second passage and a small pillar that fighters could stand upon. The prince caught himself in a handstand and performed a half-flip to return to his feet on the limited ground the pillar offered. He leapt forward and swung his blade in front of him, landing safely on the lower room in the temple and knocking Link off the side of their mini arena. The elf shot his hookshot and caught the edge of the platform safely. He leapt up and performed another spinning blade technique, knocking Marth backwards onto the passage that lead to the main platform. Upon standing up, the prince began charging his Shield Breaker technique. Link tilted the angle of his boomerang's trajectory and shot it into Marth's stomach. Link ran forward and tried to deliver an aerial swing of his blade, but guess who was ready to counter?

"Saseru monoka!"

_All of this countering is really starting to annoy me!_

Link landed on his back on the ground and returned to his feet while swinging out his blade. Marth gave a short cry and was flung to the upper left of the main platform, landing on the roof of a pillared building. Link leapt up with a spinning blade technique and landed on top as well. More fencing ensued. Upon ending the duel, Marth dashed forward, kneed Link seven times in the stomach, then tossed the elf's body to the ground. Link made a smart decision to roll away from Marth to recover rather than strike him with the Master Sword- the prince would've countered it anyway.

Link hurled a bomb at Marth, knocking the prince from the roof. He fell upon his stomach onto the ground with a heavy moan.

_Just think mindgames, Link! You have to trick him!_

Marth stood up and took notice of Link leaping down directly above him. Marth immediately took his stance to counter as Link edged nearer. Just as it seemed Link would whip out his blade... he dodged instead. Marth was frozen in the pose. The inner energy he had to charge gave him a slight lag after taking a counter pose.

Upon landing, Link slashed his blade forward twice, striking Marth with a powerful blow before the prince had a chance to recover his counter stance.

Marth screamed as he flew off in the background, disappearing in the background as a star. **((A/N: Okay, for those of you who were cool enough to play the Fire Emblem music, you can turn it off now.))**

"Pika pikachu kachupika chika..."(There goes another undefeated record...)

Master glanced at the watch on his left hand before making the official victory announcement. "GAME! THIS GAME'S WINNER IS... LINK!"

The victorious swordsman performed two slashes with the Master Sword, before turning around and confidently flicking it at his side.

"I told you sissy-boy would lose!" Bowser laughed, pointing at Captain Falcon.

Captain Falcon ignored the koopa and stated, "I don't care. I think both Link and Marth showed incredible swordplay throughout their match."

The elevator opened to reveal the two swordsmen. Neither of them were speaking to each other. Marth even appeared slightly upset.

"Zelda, what happened?" Link immediately dashed out of the elevator. He was so caught up in the anticipation of the results he failed to realize he had knocked Marth onto the floor.

Zelda glanced over at Link in surprise, then back to the TV screen.

"First, your match lasted 27 minutes."

Link blinked in surprise. _That long? I guess time flies when your having fun..._

"What about the damage we took?"

"When you were knocked off the arena, you had taken 146 damage, and Marth had taken 149. When you knocked Marth off immediately afterwards, you had taken 14 and Marth was at 161. When Marth finally went down, you had taken 202, and Marth was at 193. What's wrong, Link?"

The Hylian was in shock. He turned around abruptly and marched over to Marth. He stopped at the prince's feet, standing boot-to-boot with the prince who had been shoved to the floor previously.

"I asked for a good match."

Marth glanced up at Link sadly. He had truly tried his best in their swordfight; perhaps Link hadn't considered it good enough. He glanced down at his boots. Perhaps, compared to Link, he wasn't a good enough swordsman...

At that moment, Link chuckled and grinned, catching Marth's attention. He extended his hand down to the prince.

"... and I couldn't have asked for a better opponent, especially in a swordsman."

Marth laughed and took Link's hand, standing up. When he returned to his feet, Link clasped his hand more tightly and warmly. They gazed at each other happily, a bond that could only be shared between true swordsmen... true friends.

Master completely ignored the warm scene. Typical...

"Well, it's time for dinner! Ruby has prepared some wonderful spaghetti tonight, and there's a meteor shower reported tonight, if you want to stay up later..."

Zelda clapped her hands together.

"Perfect! Link, shall we-"

Link had placed a hand on Marth's shoulder. He hadn't been listening to her.

"So, how does that spaghetti sound? Marth, shall we head for dinner?"

"Oh, of course! The meteor shower sounds like fun too! Are we bringing others, or..."

"Nah, just you and I! Think of it as a third-floor-swordsmen-only evening!"

Link walked off with Marth, chatting about their plans that evening. Zelda was left standing in their dust.

"Oh. I-I guess that's okay too... maybe we can meet up later tonight for the meteor shower, or..."

_He can't last this way forever, can he?_

The Hero of Time had already walked off out of earshot, still speaking with the prince. Although he couldn't hear or see her, the princess could still see him. And Zelda could see Link putting an arm around Marth's shoulders.

**-----------------------------------------**

Zelda had to sit with Fox, Roy, and Nana for dinner that evening (after a slight quarrel between the lovestruck pyro-swordsman and fox over who got to sit next to the princess, she simply elected Nana to sit beside her).

The entire meal she glanced up continuously at Marth and Link enjoying their spaghetti, garlic bread, and a small Caesar salad on the side. Occasionally, they started having mini-swordfights using their forks, sometimes with pasta still wrapped around the prongs.

_I can't believe Link just... forgot me like that! It seems that his duel with Marth has changed their relationship somehow... they've almost spontaneously strenghtened their friendship!_

Link glanced over at Zelda and waved briefly (the prince followed suit), then began- once more- to talk to Marth. Judging by the amazed expressions on Marth's face, he was probably describing one of his adventures to save Hyrule.

_It's probably just a phase... after the weekend, he'll be back to spending time with me._

"Hey, Zelda!" Fox called across the table. "If you had to date Roy or myself, who would you choose?"

_I hope this is a phase too..._

**-------------------------------------------------**

Several towels and blankets had been set out on the grass for those who had chosen to watch the natural fireworks in the sky. Zelda dashed for a towel with Peach, Samus sat with Pikachu, Popo sat with Nana, Kirby with Jigglypuff, Roy with Mario, Ness with Yoshi, Donkey Kong with Bowser (they had an extra large towel), Fox with Captain Falcon, and- naturally- Marth with Link.

Crazy and Master set up beach chairs close to the battle tower. The rest of the staff had brought along their own towels and sat on them for the natural phenomenon.

"Hey! Hey! I saw one! I'm going to make a wish, brother!"

Master rolled his eyes at Crazy.

Several oohs, aahs, "puff"s, "chuu"s, and "oshi"s were heard as the battlers admired the stars.

Marth and Link traced the paths of the falling stars with their finger.

"The stars are like us," Marth philosophized, "They each came from a different place, but they all had their paths overlap eventually and they landed together, just like us..."

Link and Marth both traced two overlapping shooting stars, their outstretched hands colliding when the streaks of light disappeared.

"_Just like us..._" Link restated with a smile as he lowered his hand.

The hours gradually passed and one or two of the smashers, such as the Poke'mon or the younger ones left for the dorms to rest. The staff (save for Crazy and Master) had left after the first hour, as they still had jobs to do over the weekend.

Zelda felt her eyelids becoming droopy and finally decided to retire. She folded up the towel (Peach had left for bed half an hour prior to her) and walked up to the dorms past the swordsmen. Despite the slight jealousy she had shown earlier, it completely melted away at that moment.

Marth's head was leaning against Link's shoulder, and Link had rested his head on top of Marth's. They were both asleep.

**------------------------------------------**

Samus, Captain Falcon, Link, and Marth were the last to retire, around one in the morning.

"That was quite a show," Captain Falcon mumbled sleepily as he unlocked his room. He lazily glanced over at the stairway, then refocused his attention. There was a body on the stairs. He stepped over to the unknown figure cautiously, his worst fears confirmed.

It was Samus.

She was still breathing and she apparently had no signs of injury, but her face was a flushed red color. He placed a hand to her forehead.

"Captain Falcon!" Marth shouted in a half-whisper. He and Link ran up to the bounty hunter as he gently lifted Samus into his arms. "Captain Falcon, what's wrong?"

"Is that Samus?" Link asked. Captain Falcon glanced at the bounty huntress in his arms, then back to the swordsmen

"Marth, you're faster... go call Joy. Now." He elbowed the automatic-open button to the medical room. "She's burning up with fever!"

**------------------------------------------------------------**

**Samus: Excuse me? I'm the one who gets ill?**

**Captain Falcon: Well, Marth and Link are beginning to develop their friendship... we can't tear them apart!**

**Samus: I guess you have a point. So, everyone... I guess this is your chance to review...**

**(a paper airplane flies in and hits Captain Falcon in the ear)**

**Captain Falcon: Ow! (unfolds the paper and reads) "Happy Halloween to all the readers!"**

**Samus: (points in the direction the paper airplane flew from) AHA!! THERE YOU ARE!! MY MISSILES ARE READY NOW!!**

**bijoukaiba: Umm... want some Halloween candy? (runs as a missile flies after her)**

**Samus: (chases her) GET BACK HERE!! (fires another missile)**


	10. Somebody Call a Doctor!

_**Swordplay**_

**bijoukaiba: Well, here _I _am...**

**Link: Yeah... if you didn't hear, Samus got sick in the last chapter...**

**bijoukaiba: So... that means I've got announcement duty.**

**Marth: Well, Samus deserved some time off, as well as Captain Falcon... you were really messing around with them the last few chapters.**

**bijoukaiba: O.O Pretty boy, have you seen me? I've been smashed up by Bomb-Ombs, Hammers, and missiles from those two!**

**Link: Yeah, Samus and Falcon can pack a pretty serious punch.**

**bijoukaiba: Anyway, onto the good news... COOLIOS! I've finally reached the 10 chapter mark! Hooray! I might be crappy at drawing fanart, but I should draw something for the celebration! (starts putting up banners) WE'RE GONNA PAR-TAY!!**

**Marth: But Samus is sick...**

**bijoukaiba: No, no... I mean only for the opening and closing segments. And I'll need some time to prepare, so... the fanfiction part will give me time. Pretty boy! (claps hands twice) Start putting up decorations!**

**Marth: (frowns) My name is Marth... and you better not throw the party until Samus is feeling better!**

**bijoukaiba: (helps Marth set up the party) WHATEVER!! Link, you're one of the major stars- you get the disclaimer honors!**

**Link: Oh! Right! _bijoukaiba doesn't own Nintendo, SSBM, or any of its characters or respective games._**

**bijoukaiba: AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! MARTH, MY LADDER'S TIPPING!!!! (crashes on floor)**

**Link and Marth: (sigh)**

**----------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 10: Somebody Call a Doctor!**

Samus had been placed into a bed in the medical ward, with Captain Falcon, Marth, and Link worriedly watching over her.

"So, let me get this straight... you just found her lying in the hallway by the stairs?" Joy asked.

"That's correct," Captain Falcon confirmed. "She's been having problems with dizziness the past two days. When I put my hand to her forehead a few seconds ago, she felt warm to the touch."

Joy went over to her supply cabinet and placed an electric thermometer (with the proper cover, of course) into Samus's mouth. The third floor inhabitants waited several seconds before a beep was heard and Joy extracted the thermometer.

"102.8 degrees."

Samus groaned slightly and turned onto her side under a thin bedsheet placed over her body. Beads of sweat had begun forming on her face. Joy clicked a special button and the thermometer cover slid into a special disposal bin.

"I'll stay here overnight and monitor the situation. I'll try to administer fluids and medication to Miss Aran if she wakes up later."

Marth and Link glanced at each other confused, then over at Captain Falcon.

"She means if Samus wakes up, she'll give her something to drink and medicine of some type."

Joy glanced up at the clock.

"It's gotten fairly late, you realize. Why don't you three get some rest? Come by in the morning and I'll update you on the situation."

Marth and Link left the room silently. Captain Falcon lingered slightly longer, gently holding the bounty huntress's hand in his own.

_Samus..._

**-----------------------------------**

The Saturday sunrise arrived five hours and forty-five minutes later. Marth stretched out in his pale blue pajama pants (meaning he was 100 shirtless and sexy), opening his curtains to observe the beautiful sunrise in the colors of lavender, tangerine, and sky blue. The prince changed clothes and stepped out of his room, almost bumping chest-to-chest against Link.

"Link! What brings you here?" The prince was startled and naturally blushed as an effect.

"I was just about to knock and ask if you wanted to..." His voice trailed off slightly as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "... join me for breakfast?"

Marth smiled. "Sure!"

"I hear Ruby's making French toast again!"

"Really? That's one of her specialties-" Marth paused and stopped Link as they passed in front of the door to the medical ward. The prince exchanged a glance with Link.

"Should we check on her?" Link asked. Marth nodded.

The Hero of Time knocked gently on the door, then opened it a crack.

"Joy?" he whispered. "Are you there? It's us, Link and Marth."

Joy silently walked over to the door, but didn't open it completely.

"Oh, hello you two!" she whispered. "Samus fell asleep an hour ago. I've given her some water and a little bit of medication for her fever. When she woke up, I explained the situation. She said to tell you guys thanks... especially Captain Falcon. Could you pass that along to him?"

Marth smiled. "Will do!"

"I'll see you two later... and if anyone starts feeling unwell, just let me know."

**-------------------------------**

"So, Marth... what are your plans for today?"

The prince wiped a spot of sugar from his mouth before replying, "Well... after breakfast, I was going to work on a puzzle with Pikachu and read a new novel Samus recommended."

"Really?" Link asked. "What's it called?"

"It's called _Dragon Emblem,_**(1) **and she said there's a character in there who reminds her of me! I'm not eating lunch with anyone in particular, but afterwards I was going to see a movie with Ness..."

Link opened his mouth, ready to speak, but the prince continued explaining his plans.

"After _that_, I was going to go running with Captain Falcon... play a round of DDR with Mario... and then I'm free after dinner."

Link grinned awkwardly. "O...kay... I guess I'll see you at lunch and after dinner."

At that moment, the famous electric Poke'mon came running over.

"Chi, Chu! Pika pi chuka pika?" (Hey, Marth! Wanna work on the puzzle?)

The prince extended his arm to Pikachu, and the adorable little Poke'mon leapt up onto Marth's shoulder.

"I guess we'll see you later," Marth commented, walking off with the electric Poke'mon.

"Chii, Ka!" (Bye, Link!)

The Hylian gave a small wave of his hand as Marth walked off. _It's only been a week, yet Marth's already become so popular..._

**--------------------------------**

Marth and Pikachu completed their 500-piece puzzle in two hours. The small pieces formed the image of a Smoochum, Magby, Pichu, and Azurill sitting in a basket.

"Pika kachu kapi Chi... Kachi kachu kapi Pipi... Pikachi kachu kapi Chuka... chu Pichu kachu kapi pi!" (Smoochum evolves into Jynx... Magby evolves into Magmar... Azurill evolves into Marill... and Pichu evolves into me!) Pikachu explained with a grin, pointing to itself.

"I see," Marth replied. He was completely clueless as to how Poke'mon evolved, but listening to a Pikachu lecture you... well, it made things much more interesting. There's probably several people out there who'd want to replace one of their teachers or professors with a Pikachu instead.

"Hey, what time is it?"

"PII KA!" (GAME TIME!)

"No, no... I mean actual time."

"Pi. Pikachu." (Oh. Ten o'clock.)

"Okay. I have to go, Pikachu! I'm picking up a new novel!"

"Pika! Chii, Chu!" (Okay! Bye, Marth!)

_Let's see... Peach checked out the novel last, so I'll go ask her. Don't want to disturb Samus!_

_**--------------------------------**_

The prince found the Mushroom Kingdom's princess in her room on the first floor. Sure enough, Peach did have the novel... and she too said there was a character that greatly resembled Marth in _Dragon Emblem_.

"It won't take you long to read and the villains are really corny," Peach commented, pointing out a few of its flaws.

Marth frowned. "Well, I won't have to worry about taking the whole day to finish this..."

"But it's fairly exciting, and the hero, Seto, is actually pretty funny. Same thing with his sidekick, his little brother Mokuba. The ending is actually pretty touching. I nearly cried." She winked at him. "You're going to enjoy this."

Marth took the book from her, blushing slightly. "Ooo...kay... don't tell me anything else! I don't want to spoil the story!"

He stepped backwards and ran outside to find a spot for reading. His ideal spot? Under the shade of the weeping willow tree on the hill overlooking the ocean.

Marth glanced around the base of the tree, making sure no one could leap out and surprise him, then nestled down between two large roots of the tree. Flicking one of the hanging branches off the first page, he began reading.

Upon reaching the fourth chapter, he paused at the interesting description of the prisoner that the hero, Seto, had just rescued.

_Across the room, there was also a jail cell. Seto ran over, curious to see if anyone was inside. There was a male teenager inside. He appeared to be the same age as Sanosuke, which was eighteen._

"The only thing is, I'm seventeen." Marth mused, before continuing reading.

_He wore handsome fabrics of pale and dark blue. He carried a beautifully-handled sword in the sheath on his belt. The prisoner had dark bluish-black hair, and he wore a golden headpiece in it. _Direct quote from Dragon Emblem, I kid you not.

Marth gently fingered the golden tiara in his hair, a small smile forming on his lips as he continued reading through the battle Seto went through to rescue the prisoner.

_"I owe you greatly for saving me, my friend." The newly-freed prisoner commented._

_"Oh! No problem. What's your name?"_

_"Prince Marus,"_

Marth blinked and read the name out loud.

"Wow! That guy sounds just like me!"

Peach was right; the book was fairly short, but it was also funny and fairly exciting (especially at the end, when Seto had to face his greatest enemy ever). Even a bit of romance had been thrown in, as Seto fell in love with the girl he had been sent to rescue. The ending was also a bit of a tear-jerker. Marth was biting on his lip to keep from crying as Seto finally bade farewell to Kenshin and Marus.

"Hello!" Link called, swinging around from behind the tree. He had a small cloth-wrapped bundle in one hand. Marth jumped, clutching the book against his body.

"Link!" the prince gasped. "Don't startle me like that!"

The Hero of Time chuckled softly. "It's time for lunch, and I thought you might be getting hungry... so I saved you some of these!"

Link knelt down in front of the prince and unwrapped the bundle to reveal four crust-free chicken salad finger-sandwiches and two rice balls wrapped in nori **(2) **with a spot of soy sauce in the middle. Marth's eyes were shining.

"Oh Link... they look delicious!"

"I couldn't get any drinks... I didn't have the capacity to carry them, I'm afraid."

"No, don't be!" Marth reassured. He patted a spot on the ground beside him, also in between the roots. Link crawled around and sat beside the prince as he handed him a sandwich. "It's perfectly fine! Thank you, Link."

Marth took several bites from his sandwich.

"Mmmm..." he sighed softly. "How Ruby became such a great chef, I suppose I'll never know."

"Maybe it's instinct?" Link suggested. Marth shrugged.

A cool breeze drifted past, waving the willow's branches gently. One of the branches flicked Link's hat from his head. Marth picked it up and glanced at Link.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, I've just never seen you without your hat... I'm just taking in your true appearance." The prince paused. "I've also seen Captain Falcon without his helmet too, you know."

"Can I have my hat back?" Link asked awkwardly. "I prefer to wear it... my ears always look so big without it."

"They do not!" Marth laughed, placing Link's hat back on his head. "Hat or not, you look perfect to me!"

He straightened his hat and took another bite from his sandwich. _Perfect?_

By the time they were starting on the rice balls, chirping sounds had caught the attention of the prince and the Hero of Time. Small bird Poke'mon- two Pidgeys and a Spearow- were staring down at them from the higher branches of the tree.

"Are you hungry?" Marth asked, glancing up at them. He tore a small piece from his rice ball and held it up at the closest branch. The three Poke'mon glanced at each other, then one of the Pidgeys hopped down from branch to branch. It paused cautiously by the prince's hand, before taking a peck at the chunk of rice. It plucked the morsel from Marth's hand, then flew to a higher branch to finish eating it.

"Try it," Marth commented to Link. He tore off a small piece from his rice ball and held it up as well. The Spearow swooped over him and snatched it up, chewing on it in the air.

"This is pretty cool," Link commented, holding up another part of his rice ball. The other Pidgey flew down and began pecking at it.

"I know!" The prince laughed. He was holding up another part of his rice ball to the Pidgey that had first visited him, only now it was perched on his head, and appeared fairly happy. The other Pidgey had hopped onto Marth's knee and was pecking off pieces of the larger rice ball.

The Spearow returned to Link and also landed on his head, shifting his hat over his eyes as it plucked at the piece of rice ball in his hand. Both swordsmen (and all three bird Poke'mon) were having a wonderful time!

"We have to do this again sometime! Like tomorrow at lunch!"

"Tomorrow?" Marth gasped, shooting up. The Pidgeys were startled and flew back to the branch above him. Of course, they had taken the rice ball with them. "I forgot about the movie with Ness!"

Spearow hopped down to Link's side as he pulled his hat up again. He frowned slightly. "Go ahead..."

Marth clutched Link's hand in his own. "Don't worry! After dinner tonight, I'm all yours!"

It took Marth a moment to realize he was holding hands with the Hero of Time, before he let go awkwardly. He was blushing heavily, and even Link's face was flushed in a pale red color.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, you were excited! Don't keep Ness waiting, you have a schedule to keep."

Marth ran down the hill back to the dorms.

"I'll see you later!" he shouted.

"I guess..." Link sighed.

Spearow glanced up at Link, confused.

"No, he's not getting more rice balls."

The bird Poke'mon flew off, and the other two followed suit.

**---------------------------------------**

Marth enjoyed watching Stranger Than Fiction **(I don't own the movie either!)** with Ness. The psychic boy scooped the last handful of popcorn into his mouth as the credits began rolling.

"Wouldn't that be something?" Ness asked Marth. The prince faced him in curiosity. "I mean, if our lives were actually being written about in a fictional story of some kind."

The prince laughed. "While that _would _be interesting, I don't think that's going to happen." That's what you think, handsome.

Marth blinked. "Who said that?"

"Who said what?" Ness inquired.

Marth shook his head. "Never mind. Listen, I've gotta go. Captain Falcon's probably waiting for me outside right now."

Ness exchanged a high-five with the prince. "Okay, I'll see you later."

Marth left Ness's room, then left the building to find Captain Falcon standing directly outside the door.

"There you are!" he complained. "I've been waiting for ten minutes!"

The bounty hunter was dressed in a short sleeve royal blue T-shirt with a large number 7 in the color of goldenrod-outlined white printed on the front of his shirt. He was also wearing navy blue sweatpants and had traded in his typical boots for gray running shoes with red streaks along the sides. And of course, he had his traditional helmet on.

"Sorry!" Marth replied hastily. He had managed to plead with Ness for an extra three minutes before the movie to properly dress before he went running. The prince was wearing a sleeveless black top with vertical gray stripes below his arms. He was also wearing loose pale gray pants and had borrowed a set of brown tennis shoes with white stripes from Mario. They were slightly large for his feet, but Marth stuffed some cotton and newspaper in the shoes for a better fit. And of course, he had his traditional tiara in his hair.

"Let's just go, I've already finished stretching." Captain Falcon said, swinging an arm around his upper torso.

"Just one last thing-" Marth commented. The bounty hunter appeared ready to protest, but Marth held up a hand. "No, no... it's simple. I want you to go running without your helmet."

"What?! But how will I protect my identity?"

"Please?" Marth begged. He was practically showing off puppy dog eyes. "None of your enemies are here, and we'll be running in the woods anyway, so nobody will know... please? You'll feel much cooler that way too."

"Fine, fine..." Captain Falcon removed his helmet, shaking out his brown hair. "Satisfied?"

"Not until you catch up!" Marth's voice echoed. He had already run off to the entrance of the woods and was waving at the bounty hunter. "Just hide your helmet somewhere!"

"Hey!" Captain Falcon shouted, running after Marth. He paused and placed his helmet up in one of the tree branches. "Slow down for a second!"

Marth halted, but continued jogging in place, waiting for the bounty hunter to catch up.

"Okay then." Both of them continued at a moderate pace.

"That reminds me, Samus told Joy to tell Link and I to tell you-"

"Whoa, whoa!" Captain Falcon interrupted. "Slow down a bit! You'll stop breathing if you talk at that pace!"

Marth grinned, and continued. "To cut it short... Samus said to tell you thanks."

Captain Falcon didn't reply, he merely looked up at the sky through the treetops while smiling.

"You know," Marth panted, "I thought having to sit around in a 'car' thing would mean you didn't have to move your legs as much. How did you get to be so fast?"

"Hey, when you have to catch a criminal, there's no telling how fast you have to go. After I was in an accident, I made running long distances part of my rehab program."

"Really?" Marth asked. "What's your best distance?"

"Ten kilometers without stopping. Twenty-six minutes and fifty-two seconds."

"Incredible!" Marth gasped. He sped up a little bit, taking the lead over his friend.

After about fifteen minutes into the running, Captain Falcon's head began throbbing from the pounding sensation of his feet hammering quickly into the ground. His arms, legs, and back were feeling sore. At most, he and Marth had probably gone two miles by now... if he was so well-trained for running, why was he feeling so much pain after such a short distance?

His vision was becoming blurry, and the ground seemed to shift beneath his feet. He stumbled dizzily, crashing to the ground. Marth heard the grunt of the bounty hunter as he hit the ground and he turned around, jogging in place.

"Hey, Falcon! Are you all right?"

He continued lying on the ground, not responding.

"Captain Falcon!"

Marth dashed over and knelt down beside the bounty hunter, helping him sit up. He held up all five fingers on his hand.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Fire Stingray?" Captain Falcon mumbled. **(3)**

"... Right... I think you hit your head a little too hard. Are you bleeding?" He placed a hand to Captain Falcon's forehead to check for injury. He felt warmer than normal, and it wasn't from heat exhaustion.

"_Oh no..._" Marth whispered, withdrawing his hand. "_not you too..._"

He placed Captain Falcon's arm around his shoulder and used the best of his strength to haul the bounty hunter to his feet. Still supporting his weight, Marth began helping Captain Falcon return to the building.

**----------------------------------**

"101.5," Joy read from the thermometer. "I think he probably got the illness from such close contact with Samus."

Marth was sitting at the foot of Captain Falcon's bed in the medical ward, looking worriedly at his friend. The bounty hunter shivered in his tired state, despite several beads of sweat on his forehead. Marth tucked the bedsheet over Falcon to help him stay warm and relaxed.

"Were you listening to me at all, Marth?" Nurse Joy nagged. The prince's head shot up.

"Erm, what now? I'm sorry..."

"You and Link- actually, you especially- should watch your health very carefully! You've both been in close contact with Captain Falcon and Miss Aran... there's no telling when it will hit either of you!"

The prince nodded sincerely. "I promise, I'll keep a close watch on my health."

**-----------------------------------**

When the prince arrived at the karaoke bar to dance with Mario, he instead found Spike hanging out at the bar.

"Um, excuse me, Spike... did Mario come by here?"

"Just missed him by five minutes," he replied coolly, taking a sip of pink lemonade in the same electrifying shade of his hair. "He said to give you this message."

He handed over a slip of paper. Marth opened the note.

"_When I first met you on the dance floor, you swept my heart off its feet with your beauty,_" Marth read, blushing slightly. "_Your blue hair reminds me of a deep, sparkling ocean, my dear... ALICE?!_"

"Uh-ha-hem?" Spike choked, spitting out some lemonade on his dancing suit. He was bright red. "Um... wrong note." He snatched it quickly out of Marth's hands and began shredding it up agitatedly. Stuffing the shreds into one of his pockets, he pulled out a different sheet of paper instead. "Here, this is your note instead..." Embarrassed, he buried his face in his right hand. Marth smiled awkwardly, patting the dancer on the shoulder, then unfolded his note. So much for an interesting plot twist in the form of a unique and unexpected couple.

_Salve, Marth! _**(4)**

_Where were you? I wanted a chance to hang out with you this weekend! I waited for fifteen minutes, then gave up. Peach and I are out on the beach if you want to speak with me. Maybe you got carried away with the exercise with Captain Falcon. Maybe the movie you saw with Ness was longer than you expected. I just hope you didn't decide to ditch me, because I think you're a nice person. Maybe we'll figure something out for Sunday..._

_Arrivederci, _**(5)**

_Mario_

_PS: I hope I didn't sound angry when I wrote this... I was just disappointed. Oh, and Peach says hi._

Marth refolded the note and placed it in his pocket, heading outside to find Mario and apologize. He also decided to go and find Captain Falcon's infamous helmet while he was outside.

**-----------------------------------**

Samus had awakened after feeling slight hunger pangs. Fighting off her dizziness and fatigue, she sat up in bed. She hovered over the "Call Nurse" button at her bedside, when she glanced up at something that caught her attention.

The bed next to hers had been filled. The man was sleeping, with chestnut-brown bangs resting halfway down his forehead. A scar ran through his left eyebrow, ending just above his eye. His neck appeared strong and his chin was firm and handsome.

_Who is he? _Samus wondered. _Did we rescue a new fighter again?_

A knock on the door caught Samus's attention.

"Come in," she called softly, taking care not to wake the other patient.

Marth stepped in, carrying Captain Falcon's helmet.

"Marth!" she gasped softly. "It's nice to see you again."

"You too," the prince replied, smiling softly. He placed the helmet on a counter and stood at the foot of Samus's bed, trying to keep a safe distance. (Hey, he doesn't want to get sick too!)

"Marth," Samus started, "Do you know who this guy is? The man in the bed there?"

The prince stepped over to his bed, turning so Samus couldn't see a small smile forming on his face. Heheheh, time for some fun.

"Hmmm... what do you think of him?" He grinned at her. "Do you like him?" He was actually starting to sound like Peach!

"Well..." Samus remarked, her voice trailing off. "He's pretty handsome, (Marth had to stifle a few giggles) but I prefer to judge based on personality. Why, do you know him?"

Marth grinned at her again, letting a few soft giggles escape him every so often as he stepped back over to the counter and drummed a few fingers against the top of Captain Falcon's helmet.

"_What?!"_ Samus whispered. Her voice was close to hissing. Marth continued trying to stifle laughter.

"Come on!" he joked. "You liked him when you didn't know it was Falcon!"

"I never said _that_," Samus frowned, turning away from the prince.

"I'm just joking around with you," Marth replied gently. "Captain Falcon told me he feels foolish for acting smitten with you before. He explained that he finally realized that when you exploded at Bowser after the team match. He said a woman as good as you couldn't be won over by him anyway." Samus shifted uneasily, glancing at Marth out of the corner of her eye.

_Falcon really said that about me? That he's the one not good enough...?_

Marth stood up and stepped back over to the door, ready to leave for dinner. He paused with his hand on the doorknob.

"But you know..." Marth sighed, his voice lingering. "He still cares a lot about you, Samus. He didn't come out and tell me directly, but I can just... tell. I knew it was true the night he took you in his arms and brought you back to the medical ward." He paused and smiled at her again. "I thought it was sort of cute at the moment, before I knew what was wrong..."

She rolled her eyes, giving him a small smile.

"I guess I'm just asking you- as his friend- not to completely break his heart. Just let him know gently. Who knows? Maybe... maybe if you give it time, you'll feel the same way about him, too. Just don't repeat any of this to him."

Samus shook her head, listening to Marth. He was good at making her smile.

"Anyway... I think you'd make a nice couple," the prince remarked, before finally exiting the room.

Samus's cheeks were tinted with a faint red color, glancing over at Captain Falcon. Shaking her head once more, she pressed the "Call Nurse" button, awaiting Joy to bring her dinner.

**--------------------------------------------**

Mmm, mmm, mmm... time for me to write another scene with tasty food!

Ruby prepared another delectable meal that night, this time in the form of baby back ribs. She had smothered every slab of meat with her special secret sauce in a rich flavor. It was so rich, you could water a dime with it and grow a $10 bill. The beloved chef of the fighters had joked with Master and Crazy that the first time she perfected the recipe, a dove with an olive branch in its beak landed on her windowsill.

Alongside the ribs were golden-brown baked potatoes, the insides white and fluffy like an edible cloud. Containers of sour cream, butter, shredded cheese in three varieties- cheddar, mozzerella, and pepper jack, bacon bits, chives, and the traditional salt and pepper had been distributed throughout the tables to flavor the taters.

And for dessert... hey, there's nothing better than mum's famous apple pie! Soft, warm apples glazed in hot honey and cinnamon were irresistably crammed inside a toasty, evenly-baked sugar pie crust, with a mountain of whipped cream on top and the traditional cherry.

Marth sat at a table with Link commenting on each other's days.

"I pretty much spent my time with Zelda-"

"Oh, how lovely!"

"Well, as her bodyguard. I really wish Roy and Fox would leave her alone. They're about as smitten with her as Captain Falcon is with Samus."

Marth frowned. "Well, that's not true... Falcon sometimes flirted with her, but he's pretty much given up (Marth appeared slightly crestfallen). Those two OBSESS over Zelda. I just wish she could pick one of them and not hurt the other's feelings."

He paused to take a bite out of one of Ruby's heavenly ribs (lol, that doesn't sound right), carefully wiping the sauce from his lips. He once again resumed a sad state.

"Captain Falcon... also got sick while we were running..."

"You're kidding!" Link gasped, straightening up in his chair. "This illness is spreading pretty fast!"

"I didn't even get to spend time with Mario, because I had to bring him back to the medical ward." Marth sighed. He smiled briefly with a small laugh. "Although I found out Samus thinks Captain Falcon is kinda handsome."

Link smirked, also biting into a rib and sighing at its deliciousness. Now _I_ want to try some of those ribs, don't you?

Marth watched as Link traced a napkin around his lips. When the Hylian caught notice of this, Marth blushed and looked the other way.

"Something wrong?"

"N-no..."

They ate the rest of their dinner in silence, until they finished their dessert.

"How does Ruby do it?" Marth marveled, wiping a spot of whipped cream from his cheek with his finger and licking it.

Link moaned happily in reply.

"I don't think I can move..." Marth mumbled, sliding backwards in his seat with a hand clasped over his stomach. After all he had eaten, it was hard to believe he was still so slender. "I don't think I've ever feasted like that in years."

"So... want to go for a walk?"

Marth sat up, all sensation of being overstuffed gone. "Sure!"

**----------------------------------------------**

Stars clustered the lavender sky, with navy blue clouds. The full moon was out, pale, whole, and enlightening. It brightened the dark ocean, tipping the waves with an extra white shine on the foamy waters. Soft waves caressed the smooth sand, receding only to leave thin patches of foam along the shore and small treasures in the form of seashells. A trail of boot-prints lined the wet sand, as two swordsmen walked by the shore, occasionally feeling a cold sensation in their feet as the water washed over their boots. Crickets, cicadas, the soft rush of the wind through the grass and sand, and the natural soft chorus of the ocean created a peaceful, melodius background song. Gentle enough to put an infant to sleep, romantic enough for two lovers to share their first kiss.

A cool breeze went past, flushing some of the prince's blue bangs into his face. He smiled and brushed the hair out of his face, tucking some behind his ears.

"It's a beautiful night," Marth commented, folding his hands together behind his back. "So peaceful and quiet."

Link smiled and nodded, glancing up at the moon. They had walked in pretty much silence until something caught Link's ears. Marth's eyes were closed and he had actually started to sing softly.

"_Out here in the quiet of the night... beneath the stars and moon..."_

Link blinked at the prince. With such a soft and pretty voice, he nearly sounded female. No, he sounded more like an angel or goddess singing. All Marth needed was a harp to accompany him, and he could've had his own concert.

"_We both know we've got something on our minds... we won't admit, but it's true..."_

At that moment, Marth's eyes opened and he glanced at Link, who was watching him peacefully.

"Oh, sorry... I heard it on the radio last night... it was very pretty, by an artist called Kasumi. She has a pretty voice and it was such a beautiful love song... the first few lyrics reminded me of tonight and I- I just started-"

Marth blushed. "... If it makes you feel awkward or if it's my voice, I'll stop..."

Link shook his head. "No, no! I like this song! And your voice is... wow... keep going, keep going!"

Marth smiled and turned away slightly, out of shyness.

"_You look at me... I look away..."_

They stared back up into the skies as Marth continued his melody.

"_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, but I don't know how to start... I wanna tell you, but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart... why should anything so easy ever be so hard to do? I wanna tell you what I'm feeling... and to say that... I love you..." _**(6)**

Marth laughed. "I forget the rest after that..."

Link nodded. "It's still a great song. Zelda sings really nicely too, you should try and teach that one to her."

"Well, now I have something planned for tomorrow." Marth smiled. "Could I spend Sunday with you too?"

"I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend it with."

**------------------------------------------------**

The next morning, sunlight slipping through the cracks in his blinds awakened Link. This was going to be such a great day! He nearly forgot to change out of his pajamas as he dashed out the door and halted in front of Marth's room. He knocked softly on the door.

"Marth? It's me, Link. Are you awake?"

The door slid open freely. Link peered into his room... only to see the prince wasn't in his quarters.

_He couldn't have forgotten... could he?_

"I heard someone knocking out there..." Joy commented, glancing out of the medical ward. "Oh, greenie- I mean, Link... you were looking for Marth?"

He nodded. "Do you know where he-"

Then realization hit him as he stopped midsentence.

Joy nodded grimly. "Yes, he checked in here at about two in the morning. He was feeling horribly nauseous and dizzy overnight and couldn't take it anymore. He's had the worst fever so far, at 103.2 degrees."

Disappointment filled Link's eyes. "Oh... I hope he'll be okay. Tell everyone I hope they feel better soon."

**---------------------------------------------**

"NO, GUYS... I WANT TO EAT WITH LINK!!"

"But-"

"No! Just stay away from each other... and me!" Zelda yelled.

"Great, see how mad you made her!"

"SHUT UP, Roy!"

"Err, uh... SHUT DOWN, Fox!"

"That's not even an insult!"

"... ERAAGHH! SHUT UP!!"

"You!"

The pilot and swordsman were practically nose-to-nose they were arguing so much.

"You know," Bowser remarked, going past with his tray of food. "Why don't you both give up? You're clearly more interested in each other than Zelda... maybe Link and Marth can give you some advice with that."

A grapefruit thrown by Zelda spiked him on one of his horns. She turned around and held up two grapefruits while facing Roy and Fox. They ran off pretty quickly after getting the message.

"Nice shot, girl!" Peach cheered.

Link... just ignored Bowser, stirring a spoon in his oatmeal glumly.

"What?" Zelda asked, a small, playful smile on her face. "No clever retaliations today?"

"Marth's sick."

"Ohh..." Zelda shifted into her more compassionate nature. "Is it the same thing affecting Samus and Ca-"

"Yeah."

Wait a minute! This was her chance to spend more time with Link and stay away from her lovesick groupies.

"I know what'll cheer you up! How about we take a walk after breakfast?"

"No thanks... Marth and I went for a walk by the beach last night... before he got sick..."

"Geez, you're making it sound like the guy died." Zelda remarked, sounding uncharacteristically sarcastic.

"Well, you never know," Peach commented, sitting down next to Zelda. "We're not really doctors and Joy's only used to working with Poke'mon... it could be fatal for all we... what are you doing, Zelda?"

The Hyrulian princess had been making cutting motions at her throat with her hand, signalling for Peach to stop talking. "_Ix-nay on the atal-fay!"_

"Oh! Well, the chances of that are impossible anyway, even if we don't have a doctor..."

"Do you want to do _anything, _Link?" Zelda asked, exasperated.

"No, not really. I'm just gonna go... watch some TV."

He finished his breakfast and left, moping from the cafeteria.

"Gosh," Peach marveled. "All this moping over Marth? It almost seems like Bowser was right about Link and-" She burst out laughing. "NAHHH!!! OF COURSE NOT!" Zelda, too, was forced to laugh.

**------------------------------------------------**

Link began feeling like his brain was rotting after watching two straight hours of TV. The antics of humorous home videos and cartoons failed to amuse him. The only way he could be happy, he thought, was to be with Marth. Maybe he could get more future lessons from Ness? No, he could speak with the psychic boy whenever, and he wasn't in the mood right now.

He flopped backwards against his pillows. He was starting to feel tired all of a sudden. Probably because he was boring himself to death. If he was with Marth, he could-

_Why can't I stop thinking about him?_ He wondered. First there was the hug, then being partners in two fights, and then fighting each other only brought them closer together... now he couldn't stay away from the guy! He had fought by Zelda's side many times against Ganondorf, and they had shared many embraces... but when Marth was with him, he felt so... _different._

He put a hand to his head. The room was starting to look pretty fuzzy, like his vision was fizzling out and he was becoming dizzy.

"Hey, I think I got the illness too!" Link sat up with a smile, figuring he could spend some time with Captain Falcon and Marth now. Then his face froze as a horrible crushing sensation hit his stomach and the room swirled around him. He fell over out of bed, landing on the floor painfully with a crash.

"Oh great... I think I got the illness too."

It was hard to conceive how fast the symptoms struck him- one minute he was fine; the next minute he was tired and weak, and feeling like he was living in a freshly shaken snowglobe. Weakly stretching out an arm, Link began dragging himself along the floor towards his "two" doorways. He was sure if he tried standing up, he would only collapse again- and there was no telling how much energy that would drain from his body.

At last, Link managed to grip a hand around the edge of his doorframe. He was almost there. He just had to crawl across the hall to the medical ward. Glancing up, however, the medical doorway seemed to stretch a mile further down the hall.

_Just ignore it, Link... your mind's playing tricks on you!_

He continued dragging himself down the hallway gradually- as his energy drained, he could only crawl forward about a foot before having to rest... then six inches... then three... and the doorway just seemed to slip further away.

Perhaps, two nights ago, this was what Samus had gone through- but instead of trying to crawl to the medical ward, she was confident she had the strength to return to her room... but didn't.

Link was almost ready to give up... he just wanted to lay there in the hallway and rest until someone happened to come along and find him. Would the Hero of the Time do something so lazy? _No way._ Lifting his head, Link could see the doorway was starting to look a little closer. He just had to keep crawling closer until he could at least touch it... someone would hear him, right?

_That's right, Link..._ He thought to himself as pulled himself along the ground. _You're getting closer..._

Another heavy crushing sensation rushed through his stomach. Link was trying really hard to keep from throwing up each time the sensations hit his stomach- it almost felt like Ganondorf was jumping on his body.

At last he reached the door... summoning the last of his strength, Link lifted his upper body just enough for his fingertips to tap against the door twice... before he collapsed silently.

Fate was good to the Hero of Time. The door opened, and a gasp could be heard.

"Link... Link, are you okay?"

"Zel...da?" He asked, glancing up. He smiled. "You have beautiful eyes..."

Clearly, the Hero of Time was hallucinating.

"Thanks, I think- I mean- Link! I'm not Zelda! It's me, Marth!"

"Marth?" He asked weakly.

"Oh dear... this thing really hit you hard, didn't it..." He glanced back into the room. Joy had left on her lunch break, Falcon was sleeping, and Samus had just stepped into the restroom. "I'll do what I can to help you, but I don't know if I have the strength..."

Getting on his knees, Marth tucked his arms under Link's shoulders, wrapping them around his upper torso. "Walking" on his knees, he dragged Link backwards towards the only remaining empty bed in the medical ward.

Despite the short distance, Marth was absolutely exhausted.

"Please Link, don't give up..." the prince panted. "I need your help here..."

He placed Link's arms on the bed.

"Just climb on the bed..."

Link's knees shifted, gently pushing the rest of his body up.

"That's it, buddy... just a little further..." Marth crawled around to the opposite side and climbed onto the bed, helping to pull Link on. In a final effort of force from both, Link was finally on the bed and Marth was lying beside him.

"Thanks, Zelda."

"It's Marth."

Link closed his eyes peacefully, drifting off to sleep. Marth lacked the strength and the will to move, especially at the chance of waking up Link. Without any other options, Marth also closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

**-----------------------------------**

It wasn't until dinner time Marth reawakened, naturally from hunger. He had been returned to his original bed, across from Falcon's. Link was still in the same bed as before, which was next to his.

After all the medicine Joy had given them, it was almost starting to seem like there was no cure... was he doomed to die from a mysterious illness? His insides squirmed at the thought.

His parents, Sheida, and Ellis had all lost their lives... and it could very well be his turn next. Or it could be time for any of the other three fighters in the beds near his. He would never see them, or any of his other friends again. That frightened him even more.

No more Ness, or Pikachu, or Roy. No more Samus or Zelda.

No more Captain Falcon.

Or even worse...

No more Link...

**-----------------------------------------------**

As for the healthy smashers, dinner just went by normally with cheese ravioli for dinner. With Link and Marth both gone, Zelda was forced to sit with Fox and Roy... but luckily Peach was there once again for support.

_PLEASE, don't let that illness be fatal... the extra attention is killing ME!_

Master stepped up to make his typical announcements.

"Well, even with only four fighters gone, this room seems much emptier." He cleared his throat. "Nevertheless, the matches for tomorrow will be held. If one of the names of the ill comes up, we will merely draw again. We will be having a Classic Mode event tomorrow, so this helps make things a little easier."

The matches displayed on screen.

_**Mushroom Kingdom: 10:00 am**_

_Bowser vs. Donkey Kong_

**_Termina: 10:45 am_**

_Ice Climbers vs. Jigglypuff_

**_Mute City: 11:30 am_**

_Roy vs. Yoshi_

**_Yoshi's Story: 1:30 pm_**

_Fox vs. Peach_

**CLASSIC MODE: MARIO**

"AHA!!!" Roy yelled, leaping up in his seat. Once again, he clutched Zelda's hands in his own, making her blush. Again. "I knew this day would finally come! As I swore to you before, I shall avenge you in battle by defeating Yoshi! Hahaha!"

"I bet you lose..." Fox muttered, chasing some peas on his plate with his fork.

"I bet you lose to the preppy pink girl!"

"Hey, I'm sitting right here!" Peach retorted, flicking him in the forehead.

"Ow!"

"You really seem to have the disadvantage against your opponent if you're in pain after such a small hit," Fox muttered, smirking. Roy grabbed him by the front of his jacket.

"_Listen, you pompous fur bag!_" Roy growled through clenched teeth. "_Don't make any assumptions about how weak I am! You'll be sorry the day we fight each other... I'll humiliate you!"_ He had his left hand gripped around the hilt of the Sword of Seals. Likewise, Fox had also clenched the blaster gun in his holster.

"_Don't make any assumptions about me either, then..."_ Fox replied coldly, gripping onto Roy's tunic.

"Split up, you two!" Peach replied, separating them. "Who cares who wins tomorrow? It won't change any amount of honor you have, and it definitely won't make Zelda like you any better."

Roy and Fox released the death grips they had on their weapons, turning away from each other angrily.

"Still... I did vow to defeat Yoshi... and while he is a nice creature... defeat him I shall. I do not break promises."

He glanced back at Zelda one last time, before leaving the room silently.

She just stared at his back as he walked away swiftly.

_Weird..._

**-----------------------------------------**

Breakfast passed Monday morning, and the matches started up at ten o'clock promptly.

"Good luck, Donkey Kong." Zelda commented, patting his shoulder.

"I just hope I don't hurt Bowser like when I accidentally hurt Samus..."

"Actually," Peach commented, stifling a giggle. "If you hurt Bowser, I don't think anyone would really mind."

Zelda shook her head and DK grinned sheepishly.

Straightening his typical red tie with his initials, the large ape stepped into the elevator, next to the Koopa King.

_The cruel king of a race of reptiles... sometimes Bowser reminds me of K. Rool!_

"Begin the match!" Master called.

Bowser began unleashing a wave of fire breath upon Donkey Kong's legs. He flinched upon impact, then quickly overcame the pain. He grabbed onto the Koopa King and with incredible strength, he lifted him onto his back and threw him over the left pit at the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser had barely begun to attempt his recovery technique of rapidly spinning his shell when DK leapt above him and slammed his feet heavily into the back of Bowser's neck. With a heavy roar, he was plunged into the pit.

"Woo-hoo!!" Zelda cheered loudly, unlike her typically quiet princess nature. "Go Donkey Kong!"

"Will you cheer like that for me in my match?" Roy asked innocently.

"No, no! Cheer for me!" Fox exclaimed.

"I'll cheer for both of you..." she muttered. _Or better yet, for Yoshi and Peach._..

"WHATEVER!" Master shouted over them. "GAME! This game's winner is... DONKEY KONG!!" The giant monkey pounded his fists against his chest proudly with a soft grunt.

**-------------------------------------------------**

The match at Termina ended in a Sudden Death, with Jigglypuff coming out victorious after she tossed Nana (the leader of the day) off the back of the turtle.

Now came the exciting match of Roy vs. Yoshi.

"You know," Roy commented to a crowd of spectators as he swung around his sword once or twice, "I had my first victory at Mute City... it's like my lucky stage or something!"

Briefly dusting off his red tunic, he stepped into the elevator beside Yoshi.

"Oshi hur hup yo oshi hup ara hur, hup."(Guess you don't want me to wish you good luck then, huh.) Yoshi muttered, turning away from Roy, feeling dejected.

Much to the green dinosaur's surprise, he felt a warm, reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound smug about the match... I intend to fight you to the extent of my power and I will not underestimate you... plus, I'm also kinda excited that I'm fighting where I won my first match." Roy blushed briefly, grinning sheepishly. "Not to mention I'm fighting in honor of Zelda. But anyway... I'll give it my all against you... if you give it your all in return."

Yoshi turned around and smiled at Roy, shaking hands with him.

"Oshi! Ara!" (Sure thing! Good luck!)

"Same to you."

As the arena materialized around them, Yoshi and Roy landed on a large, gray platform made of asphalt. Perfect for a racing arena. Roy began the match by swinging his flaming blade upon Yoshi's back. Despite the slight knockback, Yoshi curled up into his egg and rolled straight forward, slamming heavily into Roy's body. He swerved his direction and returned to strike Roy a second time.

The pyro swung his sword twice around his body while in the air, striking Yoshi with his second swing. The dinosaur was thrown out of his egg and off of the platform. Roy leapt down to follow him, swinging his sword in an arch below his body. Yoshi was slammed into pavement once again. But gravity is cruel to all, and Roy also was slammed into the pavement.

At that moment, the platform lowered into the main road as mulitple cars began speeding towards them.

"I still can't get over how many cars there are in these Grand Prix races!" Kirby commented. "Lemme know if you spot a blue car with the number 7 on it!"

"Why?" Peach asked.

"Duh! That's Captain Falcon's car!" Kirby replied. **((A/N: See if you can name the other pilots that drive the following cars! Answers will be at the end of the chapter!!)) (7)**

"There it goes!" Bowser called with a laugh. "After all, it just hit Roy!"

_No wonder he thought it was funny. _Peach frowned at the thought.

He was flipped heavily into the air, before coming down and getting struck by Great Star, a huge, bulky purple car with the number 9. Bowser continued laughing as he continued to take blows. Yoshi was safe on the platform, watching Roy as he was constantly being pummeled by the incredibly fast vehicles. Black Bull was the next car to strike Roy, followed by Wonder Wasp and Fat Shark. The swordsman's percentage had now rocketed into the high eighties.

_Yoshi oshi hur hup ararara hup...(I should finish him off quick and easy now...)_

Zelda had been watching the entire match silently... she hadn't been cheering _for_ either player, but she hadn't been cheering _against_ anyone either. When Roy had been slammed around, her heartbeat began to speed up, but she reminded herself he couldn't actually be hurt.

As the platform began to halt, Yoshi leapt down and began barraging Roy with multiple kicks, driving his percentage up by an additional 19. As Roy returned to his feet, he struck Yoshi on the nose with his sword. He dashed forward and whipped his blade in front of him, striking the green dinosaur backwards. He created a combo by swinging his blade down quickly with bright flames upon Yoshi.

_Hurrr... Yoshi hup oshi arara! (Hmmm... I guess he's stronger than I thought!)_

Yoshi dashed forward, headbutting Roy in the stomach. He grunted heavily and was flung backwards. A beeping sound was heard, and the platform began to rise from the road. Yoshi leapt back onto the platform and gave Roy an aerial headbutt to the head, shoving him backwards off the platform. The unfortunate pyro was flung backwards onto the hood of the Fire Stingray, then flipped onto the Blue Falcon once again. Lol, that means Samurai Goroh's beating Captain Falcon in the virtual race!

126. 142. 155. Roy's damage kept on going up.

"He's doomed!" Bowser laughed. Zelda turned around and frowned at him... then saw something that broke her heart... one of the worst examples she had ever seen in bad sportsmanship. Fox also appeared fairly pleased Roy was taking so much damage. Was this his way of taking out his jealousy? He wanted the princess's attention desperately, and instead of coming to her directly, he attacked Roy to try to win her over. Roy was... merely defending himself this entire time, even if he had feelings for her. He had feelings for her still, didn't he?

A sharp cry caught her attention. Apparently, Roy had taken a sharp blow to the stomach from Black Bull passing by once again. He had been flung far, to the upper left corner.

Peach sighed. _Poor Roy... even if he's constantly annoying Zelda, I feel pretty bad for him... he did vow to-_

"Come on, Roy! I know you can win! Don't give up!"

Peach's thoughts were interrupted by her fellow princess... and she was cheering for... for Roy!

"You'll figure something out! Just get back to the platform!"

Fox stared at her in partial shock. _Has she... chosen him?_

It almost seemed as though Zelda's cheering was linked with Roy's thoughts telepathically. After she had first called out to him, he remembered what he had said previously.

_I vowed to defeat Yoshi... I promised I would do it for Zelda. Despite my disadvantage, I have to- I will win! I have to show her how much she means to me!_

His eyes shot open and he began to making dancing motions with his blade, similar to Marth's Dancing Blade attack. He began to move horizontally forward, little by little. Eventually, his feet finally touched down upon the platform.

_Yo... yoshi... (No... no way...)_

Roy knelt down and swung his sword to his side, making a sharp war cry.

"Hup oshi hur hup shi ara!" (I commend you for your effort!) Yoshi bowed respectfully to the lord.

Roy bowed his head gratefully in reply.

He dashed forward and swept his blade out in front of him, then swung it down in a two-move combo to rack up 28 on Yoshi. The swordsman continued to flick his sword at the green dinosaur, striking him.

_I can't lose! And I won't lose either!_

Roy slammed his blade against Yoshi's neck, the center part hitting him for extra damage.

_Yoshi hup arararara hup hur oshi hup!(I guess the center of his sword is the strongest part!)_

At that moment, Roy gripped onto Yoshi's shoulder with his left hand and began kneeing him in the stomach- four times- before throwing him over the edge of the platform. WHAM!! Yoshi collided against the Iron Tiger, before being flipped up by the White Cat. Yoshi had an impressive jumping ability, and Roy was well-prepared for that. He leapt out into Yoshi's trajectory of motion and drove his blade in an arch below him, slamming Yoshi down into the Little Wyvern. Roy began charging up energy as Yoshi spiralled down to the road again. After being bounced up again by Twin Norrita, he slammed his blade down in a heavy explosion of fire. The energy was too much for Yoshi to handle, and he was flung off the side of the screen.

Several of the fighters cheered, but some appeared upset that Yoshi had lost. Fox smirked.

"Well, he made one heck of a comeback, I'll give him that..."

"GAME!" Master shouted. "THIS GAME'S WINNER IS... ROY!!"

Roy and Yoshi stepped out the elevator, grinning.

"Oshi arara!" (Awesome victory!)

"Thanks! Awesome... uh, battle! Seriously, you were a good opponent! I see why you beat Zelda!" He laughed. "But Mute City is still my lucky st-"

He was cut off by someone running over and throwing their arms around him. Roy's face turned an even brighter shade of red than his hair.

Deja vu.

"Roy! That was incredible!" Zelda commented, gently releasing her embrace. "You're an impressive swordsman... I'd love to see you fight Marth or Link someti-"

Wham! The door leading out of the battle room had been slammed heavily... and Fox was nowhere to be found in the room.

"Oh dear..." Zelda remarked softly, a worried look on her face. _I've only become more tangled in the web now..._

"Fox!" Peach called after her opponent. "Fox, come back!"

She too left the building, chasing after her opponent for the afternoon.

Roy glanced at Zelda, who appeared greatly troubled and greatly upset.

_What have I done?_

**------------------------------------------**

Lunch came immediately after the swordsman vs. Yoshi match. Zelda did her best to avoid Roy, but didn't have to worry much about the Starfox pilot. Fox was clearly avoiding _her_ now.

"Why don't you try hooking up with Marth or Link?" Peach suggested to Zelda at lunch. "They're both single, you know."

Zelda smiled gratefully at her fellow princess, although she still appeared fairly upset.

"Link and I just want to be friends... as for Marth..." she paused. "I'm not completely sure, but I'm fairly positive he wants to be 'just friends' as well."

Peach sighed. "I can't think of anyone else. I guess you'll just have to pick one of them, dear."

"I wish there was someway I could be with both of them and not look bad... or pick either of them and not hurt the other."

Zelda paused, gently pushing aside her hearty tomato soup. "What would you do, in my place? I mean... if YOU had to choose..." She asked softly.

Peach glanced over at Fox and Roy, to make sure they weren't watching. She leaned over the table and whispered her answer in Zelda's ear.

"Really?" Zelda asked. She sighed. "That doesn't really help me..."

"Well, based on your situation..." Peach leaned over and continued advising Zelda in her ear. Zelda nodded.

"But remember," Peach cautioned. "It's your heart. Only you can decide if Fox or Roy's heart is right for you."

"Lunch will end in five minutes!" Crazy announced. "Peach and Fox, be ready for your matches!"

**-----------------------------------------------**

Peach and Fox's match ended quickly, with Peach coming out victorious. Fox was having trouble concentrating during his match. Zelda provided some comfort for him, gently patting his shoulder and reassuring him it was okay. He answered by grinning and blushing. Don't ever change, Fox... lol.

Mario's Classic match was ready to begin... and once again, Master couldn't be found anywhere. Crazy would be making the announcements again.

"All right Mario, here are your opponents for this afternoon!" The names flashed on the screen:

**Yoshi**

**Ice Climbers**

**Ness**

**Peach**

**Donkey Kong**

**Bowser**

**Fox**

**Kirby**

**Pikachu**

"So of course, Roy, Jigglypuff, and Zelda have the rest of the afternoon off." He grinned with the typical crazy look on his face. "Good luck!"

Mario tipped his cap and stepped into the elevator.

"All right... first match will be against Yoshi!"

"Oshi!" (See ya!) Yoshi called to Roy. Although Zelda and Jigglypuff had left to go do... whatever girls wanted to do... he had stayed behind to watch the match.

A heavy blast of fire to the face was all it took to knock out Yoshi.

"Wow, he's good!" Roy gasped.

"What do you expect?" Peach giggled at Roy. "He IS Mario!"

_Give me a break... _Bowser thought to himself.

"Next match... I need the Ice Climbers, Ness, and Peach!"

"Oh my1" Peach gasped.

"Oh my one?" Roy asked. "What does that mean?"

_It was supposed to be an exclamation mark!_ Bowser thought to himself, correcting the author on her punctuation.

The princess and the children stepped into the elevator, ready for the match. Much to the plumber's dismay, he found himself fighting against Peach and Ness, with the Ice Climbers as his allies.

"Go fight Ness!" Popo commented to Mario. "We'll take care of Peach if you don't want to. Nana herself doesn't like this match-up." He began making kissy faces at his best friend. "Doesn't want to fight her wittle boyfwiend..."

He was answered by a hammer to the face.

"Come-a on! Let's-a go!" He gestured to Ness and Peach who had coming running towards them.

Mario immediately intercepted Ness's direction with an aerial punch, while the Ice Climbers spun square-dance style to barrage Peach. Mario and Ness exchanged punches, fireballs, and PK while Peach and the Ice Climbers exchanged turnips and hammers, in their unique fighting style.

A feminine screech alerted Mario (as he took a kick to the thigh) that Peach had already been knocked off stage. He grabbed onto Ness and held him as he headbutted him several times until the Ice Climbers ran over and pounded their hammers heavily into the psychic boy's back. Ness flew off the top of the screen as a star.

His target test had many interesting obstacles that proved fairly difficult to get through. Mario was only able to eliminate 6 targets.

Next was his match against Donkey Kong at the Kongo Jungle. A Klap Trap was Mario's ally in defeating his giant enemy. But Donkey Kong was only going to get bigger.

Mario's next match consisted of combatting a giant-ized DK with Fox and Bowser for allies.

"Wait a minute-a!" Mario gasped, doing a double take. "Bowser-a?"

"Hey!" The koopa king growled. "This wasn't my idea!"

At that moment, the gigantified DK landed in the arena.

"Er... shall-a we start fighting-a?"

"Don't mind if I do!" Bowser growled, leaping forward as he slashed his claws against DK's giant shoulder. Fox leapt in from behind with a Fire Fox attack, pummeling into DK's back. The giant monkey threw out only one punch to hit both Bowser and Mario at the same time.

"He's-a much stronger!" Mario commented, getting to his feet.

"What, was the giant size your first clue?" Bowser snapped, plowing forward to incinerate the side of DK's face.

Mario leapt into the fray, delivering an aerial kick to the ape's nose. Fox shot his blaster into his leg, before delivering a flip-kick to him as well. Bowser, the only one large enough to possibly grab him, clenched onto DK and bit him several times as Mario flicked fireballs into him and Fox delivered rapid firing from his blaster. Bowser turned and threw DK off the side of the Kongo Jungle, all three of the allies panting heavily as Master announced, "GAME!"

Upon exiting the elevator, Peach approached the giant turtle.

"Did you ACTUALLY just help Mario defeat an enemy?"

He frowned, realizing this was correct.

"Errrggghhh... call it an unannounced, forced truce for five minutes."

**-------------------------------**

When it came time to "collect trophies", Mario only managed to snag one, and fittingly, it was a green Koopa shell.

Now Mario's match was against Kirby at the Green Greens arena. Kirby began the match by swinging his giant hammer at Mario, striking him for 12. Mario countered by spinning himself in a barrage of fists, what he called the "Mario Tornado". Kirby leapt up and spun his body around, striking the plumber with his limbs. Mario grabbed the puffball and headbutted him three times, before spinning in a circle to build his momentum and flinging Kirby into a brick with a picture of a bomb on it. Sure enough, the block exploded and Kirby gasped in pain, his body turning a dark color briefly as smoke sifted around him.

When his vision cleared, Mario's fist came flying into his perspective via the air. Ouch. Kirby was sent wailing off the top of the screen.

"Game!" Crazy declared.

"The big board of those smart doctors was right," Kirby commented, holding a hand to his forehead. "Smoking kills."

Peach shook her head at the bad joke, whereas Jigglypuff giggled at him.

Next, Mario faced a team of ten Ness clones. He repeated his Mario Tornado, aerial fist, and "smashing palm of fire" techniques to defeat them.

Then it came time for the 'Race to the Finish' challenge.

Mario dashed forward immediately, preparing to run forward as far as possible, passing four doors and preparing to enter a deep hallway, when suddenly he turned around and entered a door he had previously passed.

"I don't get it," Kirby pondered, "Why'd he do that?"

"He could've gotten more bonus points..." Fox muttered.

"Well, I understand!" Peach commented, snapping her fingers. "As you know, Fox, the further you go into the maze, the more points you get. But that also takes more time. You and Marth are very quick characters and could venture further, but Mario's a bit slower than you, so he didn't want to risk missing a door. Also..."

"What else?" Kirby asked.

"Speaking of time, Mario might not want to waste any of it worrying about silly points. Marth, Link, Captain Falcon, and Samus are very sick, and both you and Marth met with a new foe after your matches, so I think..."

She watched the screen as Mario shot two fireballs at a metallic Pikachu, who was charging up a skull bash attack.

"I figure maybe Mario thinks that if he faces a new opponent as well, then MAYBE he, she, or it will have some medical knowledge, and maybe-"

Nana, excited, finished her statement. "... Maybe we can get some help for our friends!" She clapped her hands, cheering, "Mar-i-o! Mar-i-o!"

By the time the giant hand had arrived to fight Mario, almost all of the fighters- Bowser wasn't exactly one for cheering- were chanting the name of the beloved hero.

Mario leapt forward and swung a fist at the giant hand, lowering its HP from 150 to 139. He threw out a punch-punch-kick combo for 7 extra points, before the hand showed signs of retaliation. It shifted backwards, then made a sweeping motion towards him. Mario leapt into the air and dodged, then upon landing performed his Mario Tornado attack to lower the hand's health from 132 to 120. He smashed a palmful of fire against the hand's thumb and performed a side kick for 25 extra points, before the hand suddenly flew into the air and crashed down, slamming Mario into the ground of the destination for 23.

"Get up, Mario!" cried a handful of the fighters. Others booed the hand. Crazy was trying to hide laughter, knowing that they were booing his brother.

Sure enough, Mario stood up, punching the hand to lower its HP from 95 to 89. He leapt up and did a backflip, kicking the hand, before repeating the motion. The giant glove had its HP lowered to 65.

The hand floated above him in the air, then began firing lasers. One of them brushed Mario's shoulder, causing 6 damage, before he jumped into the air and delivered two Mario Tornado attacks, a forward punch in the air, and another backflip-kick. The hand's damage had been lowered to 11 points.

"GO MARIO!!!" Peach screamed in joy. "FINISH HIM, FINISH HIM!!"

When the glove returned to its neutral position, Mario fired two of his tradition fireballs against its index finger to finish the battle. And once again, his opponent flew off screaming in the background in a rocket-like explosion.

Mario's final score was displayed on the screen, then a fast-forwarded version of the shooting game Marth and Fox played passed over the TV screen.

_Whoa, think fast, Crazy! Press the right button!_ He tapped a white button on his controller, conveniently next to the _blue_ button he was supposed to press. _Oops..._

When the words "A NEW CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED", the fighters didn't appear too concerned; some of them actually appeared quite excited!

"I wonder what big brother will do to me for messing up..." Crazy muttered under his breath.

**-------------------------------**

Mario stepped into the retro-style land of the Mushroom Kingdom.

"What-a sort of opponent am I-a going to have-a here?" _Maybe it's Luigi!_

One Italian accent answered another.

"Did-a I hear someone-a talking?"

That voice was deeper than Luigi's. It sounded... just like his?

Mario leapt up onto a brick platform and found his opponent standing on top of the bricks as well. He was dressed in a doctor's uniform, but- much to Mario's shock and surprise- looked _exactly _like him!

"Mama-mia, it's-a me!" They both shouted, pointing at each other.

"I'm-a Mario, what's-a your name?"

"Mario," the one in the doctor's suit replied. "I'm not sure how-a I got here-a though..."

"We'll worry about-a that later," Mario commented, shrugging off the surprise of having a clone of himself. "Are-a you a real doctor?"

"Yes-a, I am..." he replied.

"Great-a! Four of-a my friends are-a sick, and we really need a better-trained-a doctor! Will you-a help me, Mario?"

The doctor nodded. "Absolutely! But-a please, call-a me Dr. Mario. It'll help-a avoid confusion."

Mario shook hands with, well, pretty much himself as a doctor alter-ego.

"Okey-dokey, I have to defeat-a you in battle to get-a you to the-a medical ward. After-a you lose, you'll be-a sent to a small gray room-a, before you wake-a up in my usual-a world. Then-a you can get-a your patients. Is that-a okay?"

Dr. Mario nodded. "Let's-a do it!" The doctor backed up to the edge of the brick platform, standing right over the pit. "Hit-a me!"

Mario dashed forward, then slid across the ground with his feet forward, kicking the doctor in the shins and causing him to tumble backwards into the pit with a shout of "D'oh!"

"Yahoo!" Mario cheered, pumping a fist in the air, before being transported into the elevator.

Upon exiting, he didn't pause to celebrate with his fellow fighters. "We'll-a talk about the match-a later, let's-a just get him out of-a the room!"

Roy, Peach, and Pikachu dashed after Mario out of the battle tower, when they spotted the gray room outside.

"What is that place?" Roy asked.

"It's where you came from, sweetie," Peach explained.

Mario hauled the door open and sure enough, his doctor side was standing there where the doorway used to exist.

Peach nearly passed out from surprise, Pikachu appeared stupefied, and Roy was amused.

"That is so cool!" he laughed. "Hey, can I have a medical me too?"

Shaking off the surprise, Pikachu commented, "Pi, Pichichu. Pikachu pi pichu ka pi Cha pikachu ka pichika chu ka... chu... Pika Chi." (Hey, Mario. I'm gonna run ahead and get Joy to prepare the medical room for... um... Dr. You.)

Dr. Mario didn't bother to ask about the strange electric creature that he could surprisingly understand.

"Well, welcome-a to this world-a. That's-a Peach, this is-a Roy, and the little creature-a is Pikachu, a species of-a a creature called a Poke'mon." Mario summarized. "And these-a are the grounds-a of the Battle Royale-a Suites!"

"Explanations-a later," Dr. Mario replied. "Lead me to-a the patients."

**-------------------**

Dr. Mario browsed the room of the medical ward, interested in both the types of medicine and equipment it had to offer, before turning to the patients.

"So Miss Aran caught-a the illness first, followed-a by Captain Falcon, then-a Prince Marth, and then-a Link?"

Joy nodded. "This is correct, sir."

"And-a they all described the-a similar symptoms of-a dizziness, fever, shivering, and-a slight nausea?"

"Yes sir."

"Okay, here's-a my plan for the patients... if-a everything goes well, they should-a be able to leave by tomorrow-a morning."

**------------------------------**

"Mmmm..." Marth awakened the next morning, stretching out his entire body. It felt like he had been revived from the dead, he felt so invigorated after being weak the past two days.

"Hey, great to see you're up too," commented a familiar voice. Marth turned his head toward Captain Falcon and smiled, noticing Link and Samus had apparently awakened before him as well.

"How do you feel?" Samus asked.

Marth stretched again, adoring the sensation of movement in his muscles. "Wonderful! I'm not dizzy, I don't feel sick, and I've just lost the general sense of lousiness."

"You know what this means, right?" Link asked.

"We spend too much time together?" Samus joked. Marth and Captain Falcon chuckled.

"No, we have a new medic." Sure enough, Dr. Mario entered the room with Nurse Joy behind him.

"Well, was-a I right, or was-a I right-a?" He commented.

"You really are an incredible man, Dr. Mario," Joy complimented. "We're going to make an incredible team in the field of medicine."

"Dr. Mario?" Samus asked. "There are two Marios now?"

"It's a long-a story," Dr. Mario explained, not wanting to enter into details. "But since you're all-a awake, I just want to-a run a check on your-a vitals, and if all-a seems well, you're free-a to leave. By the way-a, I'm going to be-a staying downstairs in-a Room 7. Turns out I'm-a also going to-a be a fighter too!" He moved over to Samus to begin checking on his new patients.

"Normally, you can't hold a job and be a fighter at the same time," Joy explained, "But due to the lack of a more experienced medical professional- especially with people- Master was willing to make an exception. Dr. Mario still has to give his medical career first priority however, if he is assigned a fight on the same day a fighter becomes ill or injured."

"I still think that's pretty lucky," Marth commented to the doctor before an electric thermometer was inserted into his mouth.

"So, what's going on in the world of Battle Royale?" Samus questioned.

"Oh, there's going to be an Event Match, a Multi-Man Melee challenge, and a few matches, including one to begin Dr. Mario's fighting record." Joy explained, as Dr. Mario nodded to her after removing the thermometer from Link's mouth. And yes, each time temperature was checked, a new sterile cover was used to prevent spreading germs. Proper sanitation is a top priority in medicine, you know.

"Everyone's temperature has-a returned to a healthy level-a," Dr. Mario confirmed. "You're all-a cleared to leave the medical ward-a. But keep an eye on-a your symptoms and report back if anyone starts-a feeling unwell again."

WOOSH! The sheets flew off the patients rapidly and they dashed out of that room (Captain Falcon pausing to grab his helmet), getting conditioned to using their legs again after remaining dormant in that boring chapter- I mean, room.

"Chu! Pikachu!" (Marth! You're okay!) The electric Poke'mon leapt into the prince's arms almost immediately after his exit from the medical ward.

"What, were you waiting for me?" The prince asked, scratching Pikachu between the ears. "I've missed you too, Pikachu!"

"Link!" Zelda ran over and threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're feeling better!

"Why, have Roy and Fox been bothering you?"

"Actually no, not really... Peach has helped me avoid them."

Link smiled. "Well, that's nice to know."

"Chi, pi kapi chuka? Pikachu ka chi pi pika. Ka pichu CHI chu!" (Hey, aren't you guys hungry? Hospital food can't taste that great. Come get some REAL food!)

"Sounds good to me!" Marth laughed, carrying Pikachu in his arms. "I've missed Ruby's cooking..."

"Wait for us!" Zelda commented, running after the prince.

"You guys coming?" Link asked, gesturing to the bounty hunters.

"Sure, just a moment," Captain Falcon commented, stepping into his room to place his famous helmet on the edge of his bed. Much to his surprise, he found Samus still waiting for him in the hallway. It was the first time their eyes had actually met without a helmet of any type to partially obstruct their view.

"Did you want to see me about something?" He asked from his doorway.

"Sort of," she explained as he stepped into the hallway.

He leaned against the wall casually, folding his arms as some of his brown hair fell into his face. "Shoot."

"I guess... I sort of wanted to thank you in person for what you did Friday night..."

He smiled briefly. "You're... welcome." A few moments of awkward silence passed between the bounty hunters.

Falcon turned from her and started to walk down the hallway when he felt her hand gently hold onto his shoulder.

"Wait... I wasn't done yet..." She bit her lip briefly. "I... I also wanted to apologize for what I said to you during the team matches."

He turned around and faced her in surprise.

"I guess I got angry at Bowser... and annoyed at Jigglypuff, that my emotions got carried away and... I said something I didn't mean. I never meant to say I didn't like you..."

"Nah, I should be the one apologizing," Captain Falcon replied. "I don't know what came over me, being smitten like that..." He frowned in frustration. "Did I really make myself look like that much of a lovestruck idiot? I guess I became obsessive over the fact that I met a beautiful woman, and did a poor job of trying to get her to like me. Not even Jody could affect me like this back in my home... you're the first girl I ever considered to be lovely."

Samus faintly blushed for a brief moment. Falcon laughed, "What am I doing, spilling my whole heart out here? This is going to turn into some sort of soap opera! I guess what I'm saying is... I've gotten over my excessive infatuation. I probably wouldn't have liked it if someone was that crazy for me back in my hometown. Besides... I'm probably not good enough to win you over."

_He said it again! Just like Marth told me..._

"So... are we cool?"

Samus looked as though she was going to speak, then nodded briefly. "I guess after everything that's happened, I've had a better chance to judge your personality- you were still willing to help me even after I said I didn't like you. And you gave up that more-" she hesitated a moment before continuing, "-more 'annoying stalker' type of personality too. I'm actually pretty fond of the 'real' you."

Captain Falcon grinned, scratching the back of his head modestly.

Samus smiled at him. "So, I guess what I'm trying to say is... how do I put this..." she extended her hand to him and said only one word.

"Friends?"

He smiled and took her hand, replying with only one word as well.

"Friends."

They shook briefly, before heading downstairs for breakfast, walking side by side. "Friend" status was never a bad thing. For Captain Falcon's heart, it also meant a small bit of hope.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**(1) Dragon Emblem: A Yu-Gi-Oh/Rurouni Kenshin/Fire Emblem crossover fanfiction written on 9/15/03 and completed 9/15/05, where Seto Kaiba worked for an adventure agency and was sent on a time-traveling mission to Meiji-era Japan to rescue a girl retrieving a present-day extinct plant that served as a cure for a revived illness that has become an epidemic in a poor village in Africa. But in order to save her, he had to train as a swordsman and travel on multiple quests. If you read the actual fanfiction, it IS Prince Marth (not Marus... which is actually an alternate spelling to his name- like Mars), but we don't want our prince to freak out in Swordplay. Dragon Emblem was the first fanfic by the author bijoukaiba, aka "Yours Truly".**

**(2) Nori: Dried seaweed, sometimes used in Japanese cooking with sticky rice. Often seen wrapped around sushi. It is mostly found flavorless but can also be salted, depending on how it is used in cooking.**

**(3) Fire Stingray: Sort of an inside joke, mainly directed towards the F-Zero fans. The Fire Stingray is the car driven by the totally awesome racer Samurai Goroh, car number 5. So when Marth held up 5 fingers, Captain Falcon replied "Fire Stingray". I'd also like to take this moment to make an advertisement: SAMURAI GOROH FOR BRAWL!! SAMURAI GOROH FOR BRAWL!! SAMURAI GOROH FOR SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL!! (coughs) You saw nothing.**

**(4) Salve: Italian for hello.**

**(5) Arrivederci: Italian for good-bye.**

**(6) Lyrics: If anyone can name this song, I'll reward you... somehow... (starts thinking). I'll only give you one hint: "Despite all the annoying canon, I think this could easily be a gymshipping song as well."**

**(7) Answers: In order- Captain Falcon: Blue Falcon, Mr. EAD: Great Star, Black Shadow: Black Bull, John Tanaka: Wonder Wasp, Don Genie: Fat Shark, Samurai Goroh: Fire Stingray, Baba: Iron Tiger, Jody Summers: White Cat, James McCloud: Little Wyvern, Gomar & Shioh: Twin Norrita. How many did you get right?**

**bijoukaiba: GASP! That has been my longest chapter to date! And I've also been delayed because of school and personal business (my neighbor died recently, so I've been under a lot of stress, plus the funeral). How's that for chapter number 10?**

**Captain Falcon: So, now that we're friends... does that mean we're on peaceful terms?**

**Samus: I guess you could say that, yeah.**

**Marth: Fabulous!**

**bijoukaiba: AND NOW WE CAN FINALLY HAVE OUR PARTY!!!**

**(Cast of Swordplay enters room and starts dancing)**

**Mario: Thanks to-a everyone that's-a reviewed!**

**Peach: We hope you'll come back for more soon!**

**Roy: Chapter 11 should be up much faster this time!**

**Zelda: This is also our announcements chapter!**

**Marth: First of all, GO CHECK OUT BIJOUKAIBA'S FANART ACCOUNT ON DEVIANTART OR FANART-CENTRAL. She has the same author name as her artist name. She's drawn a picture in honor of Swordplay!**

**Link: (blushes) Yeah, I think they'll like it...**

**Samus: Secondly, the author is pleased to announce that she is currently developing plans and drafts for a SEQUEL to Swordplay!**

**Fox: And third... (winks) Next chapter is dedicated to niyanna! Trust me, you'll see why!**

**bijoukaiba: And more announcements shall be made next chapter. This is your cue to review!**

**ALL: THANKS FOR TEN CHAPTERS AND OVER FIFTY REVIEWS, EVERYONE!!**


	11. 1 vs 100!

**_SWORDPLAY_**

**bijoukaiba: Okay, so we've finally passed ten chapters. We've met our new pals Marth, Jigglypuff, Roy, and Dr. Mario, as of last chapter. So, what's going on with the Event Mode matches and Multi-Man Melee this chapter?**

**Marth: I don't know. YOU'RE the author. (blinks in confusion) Hey wait, I thought you were supposed to torment Captain Falcon and Samus by making them do this opening segment with you?**

**bijoukaiba: What are you, my secretary? No, I decided to let them have the opening segment off. Actually, for helping me out with chapters 8 and 9, I intend to reward them at the end of this chapter!**

**Donkey Kong: Really? How? **

**bijoukaiba: Sshh!! That's going to be a surprise. And it won't be something horrible... in fact, (whispers the surprise into Marth's ear)**

**Marth: Oh wow! That's so nice! But what do you mean when you say- (author covers his mouth)**

**bijoukaiba: SSSHHHH!! THAT'S THE SURPRISE!!**

**Donkey Kong: Due to the author's inconvienient argument, I shall be giving the disclaimer today. _bijoukaiba doesn't own Nintendo, Super Smash Bros. Melee, or any of its related characters or respective franchises._**

**Marth: When do I get to make the disclaimer?**

**bijoukaiba:... Just let them read...**

**Oh, and by the way, in honor of my new pal, Babykoalaprincess, I'm going to try and portray Peach better from now on. Similar to what I started with Captain Falcon by about Chapter 8 and 9. (Watches F-Zero anime and re-reads her previous chapters) Dude... I totally goofed up his inner nobility... (hits head against keyboard)**

**bijoukaiba the editor: Also, did you notice? Go read through the chapters. I don't know how much you remember, but I've made changes to the OOC chapters. For example, the first chapter had Falcon all drooly and pervy around Samus, but now he's the gentleman he truly is. (swoonage!! XD)**

**-----------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 11: 1 vs. 100!**

Peach was just eating breakfast normally with Mario when she spotted her three previously sick friends, the new doctor, Zelda, Pikachu, and a mysterious man talking with Samus.

"Hey, guys!" Peach called, waving a hand to them. "Come grab a seat, any two of you!"

She pointed at the muscular man with brown hair.

"Hey, you're pretty handsome, actually... are you a new fighter, perhaps?" She cooed. Mario gave her a shocked glance. "Are you trying to win Samus over? Well, good luck with that... you'll have competition with Captain Falcon! Although she seems to like you a lot already... but can you blame her?" Mario rolled his eyes as Peach walked over and placed a hand on his arm, feeling his muscles. "Just look at this guy! He's handsome and a total hunk!"

Samus was blushing faintly after Peach's comments, whereas the 'hunk' laughed. "Handsome and a hunk, you say?"

Peach stared at him, amazed, after recognizing his voice. "C-Captain Falcon? Is that really you?"

The bounty hunter laughed. "Well, sure! I have to have an identity under my helmet, you know."

Several others stared at him briefly, before resuming their morning meal. Like seeing Samus unmasked the first time, they had a slight surprise, then life continued normally.

Captain Falcon and Samus took the seats with Mario and Peach. The plumber still appeared upset about Peach's flirting.

"Oh, come on Mario!" She rubbed his shoulder playfully. "I was only kidding around! Sometimes the best way to determine if a girl likes a guy is to flirt with him, then see if the other girl gets jealous! You know I'd never leave you!" She winked at him cutely. "Same thing's true for the other way around!" Mario sighed and smiled, giving in to Peach's charming appearance.

"Speaking of which," Peach commented. "Samus, did I see you _blushing_ after that?"

The bounty hunters glanced between each other awkwardly, laughing.

"Well, maybe I was a bit embarrassed with what you said about 'winning me over'..." Samus commented.

"Yeah," Captain Falcon added. "After all the conflicts that have been going on between Samus and I, as well as a few others, we've decided we're going to be just friends."

"That's-a good," Mario agreed with a nod. "Forget-a what Bowser's said-a. All that-a matters is what-a you think!"

The bounty hunters exchanged a nod.

Scrambled eggs and grape juice were served for breakfast that morning, and soon after the plates were cleared, Master came forward to make his usual announcements.

"All right. First off, I think we should start the four regular matches we'll be holding today. After lunch, we'll go into Event Mode, and then we'll enter some Multi-Man Melee challenges."

Crazy wrenched the microphone from his brother.

"Once those fights come up, we'll explain how to handle them."

**-----------------------------------------------------**

Obviously, after being under medical care and isolation, Marth, Link, Samus, and Captain Falcon had no idea who was fighting, so they were highly excited as to who would be facing who.

"Our first match is... Pikachu versus Bowser at Corneria," Master announced at ten. The giant koopa and the adorable electric Poke'mon dropped in onto the jet and approached each other immediately. Pikachu leapt forward and rammed Bowser with a dashing headbutt, whereas Bowser retaliated by swiping his claws forcefully at Pikachu with a mighty slash. Pikachu was clutched by Bowser's claws and pulled into a tight grip, allowing his enemy to bite him several times. The mouse-like creature kicked Bowser in the jaw to finally break free.

"PIKA!!" (THUNDER!!) Lightning bolts rained from the sky, but Bowser put up his energy shield to defend. He grabbed Pikachu, headbutted him twice, then threw him forward. He unleashed his fire breathing abilities upon the little Poke'mon.

"Yum, yum. I always like a nice helping of fried rat for brunch!" He gripped Pikachu again, bit him three more times, and tossed him into the air. Bowser bounced up with a leap as Pikachu came down, ramming him with the spikes on his back. Pikachu was sent flying as a star.

"Pika pika!!..." (You'll pay for this!!...)

After Master officially declared Bowser's victory, several boos were heard as both of them exited the elevator.

"Ah, shut your mouths." Bowser snarled. "You all know you're going to get the same dealings when we meet in combat!"

**---------------------------------------------**

The next match had several of the fighters excited. It was Dr. Mario's first time in a fight! Even Nurse Joy had come down to watch him.

"Very well then," Master announced as the fighters boarded the elevator for their trip to the Fountain of Dreams. "The match of Dr. Mario vs. Ness will now commence! GOOO!!"

Ness shot a PK Fire attack at the doctor, who did a sidestep dodge quickly.

"Time to take-a your medicine!" He teased, in a... really cheesy taunt. He shot a pill at Ness in a flipping trajectory. It hit him in the cheek with a distinct sound.

Ness jumped backwards and grabbed his buddy, Mr. Saturn, and flung him at the doctor. Dr. Mario used a white sheet to whip the little dude back at Ness.

"Is it just me, or does he have similar moves to yours? Kinda like Roy and Marth?" Peach asked the famous plumber. Mario nodded.

"I was noticing-a that myself."

Dr. Mario ran forward and grabbed Ness, headbutted him twice, then spun around twice for extra momentum to hurl him off the side of the fountain. Ness attempted to fire his PK Thunder attack to launch himself back onto the stage, but he misfired and wound up spunning into the black pit known as space.

Nurse Joy could be seen bouncing up and down, clapping her hands together in... joy.

"Game!" Master announced. "This game's winner is... DR. MARIOOOOO!!" The doctor shot out two pills from his sleeves and then held up two more with a laugh.

Ness stomped out of the elevator, frustrated, while Joy congratulated the doctor.

**--------------------------------------------------------------**

The next two matches flowed fairly quickly. Yoshi and the Ice Climbers did battle on the Rainbow Cruise, but a bad jump by Yoshi after being slammed by their hammers led to his defeat. As for the match between Mario and Zelda, the princess accidentally stepped on a mine set up in a strategic spot that sent her flying out of Hyrule Temple.

At lunch, Marth, Link, Captain Falcon, and Ness sat together as they ate the popcorn chicken Ruby prepared.

Ness slammed a fist on the table. "I just don't get it! Why can't I win yet?!"

Link, sitting next to him, patted his shoulder. "It's okay, Ness, just wait until you get an easy opponent like Jigglypuff- no offense to her- and you'll probably win!"

"Thanks for the reassurance," Ness muttered, dragging a piece of chicken through honey mustard sauce before stuffing it in his mouth.

"So," Marth commented, turning to Captain Falcon beside him, "What do you think about these event matches?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Falcon replied. "By which, I mean I have no idea."

**-------------------------------------------------------------------**

Master and Crazy had called together everyone at the end of lunch in the battle tower.

"We will now be starting Event Matches!" Master announced. "These matches are similar to the battles that you face on a day-to-day basis, but are sometimes set aside for specific characters or have unique rules! No wins or losses are distributed to scores in these fights, and they frequently last for a very short time. Read through the list of Event Matches, and see if any of them interest you."

The fighters glanced up at the list on the TV screen.

**1: Trouble King**

**2: Lord of the Jungle**

**3: Bomb-fest**

**4: Dino-wrangling**

**5: Spare Change**

**6: Kirbys on Parade**

**7: Poke'mon Battle**

**8: Hot Date on Brinstar**

**9: Hide 'n' Sheik**

**10: All-Star Match 1**

"See anything you like?" Crazy asked.

"What's-a involved in the-a Trouble King fight?" Mario asked.

"Quite fitting you asked, Mario!" Master replied. "The match is designed specifically for you to fight Bowser. Would you care to fight?"

"Believe-a me, I never get-a tired of beating up-a Bowser," Mario laughed, with Peach giggling in the background. Bowser rolled his eyes. "I'll-a do it!"

Bowser and Mario stepped into the elevator, awaiting the match to begin. The TV screen changed its display to what appeared to be a giant platform hovering in outer space. Above it were three smaller, hovering platforms, two of them floating at the edges of the big platform at equal heights, and a third platform was floating between them at a higher altitude. Bowser and Mario appeared on the screen and started the fight.

_But wait, something's wrong!_ Peach thought to herself. _Bowser's hardly attacking!_

Mario was using Bowser's slow speed to his advantage, using quick attacks in combos and pelting him with his famous fireballs. After Bowser had taken 98 damage (Mario had only taken 34), Mario grabbed him by the feet and spun around, building up enough momentum to send him hurling off the side of the Battlefield.

"Success!" Master cheered.

Mario and Bowser exitted the elevator.

"Who's-a next?"

"We'll try Dino-wrangling!" The Ice Climbers announced.

"No problem! That match is open to anyone! Yoshi, here's two extra helpings of Super Mushroom Soup; you'll need them to reach the appropriate size for the fight!" Crazy stated.

"Yoshi ararara," (That sounds interesting,) Yoshi commented, taking the sealed cup with him into the elevator as the Ice Climbers joined him.

"I have a question," Peach said, "Bowser is pretty powerful, yet he performed like nothing in the first Event Match! Why?"

"Oh, we just activated a handicap on him," Master explained simply. "It's the first match, so naturally it would be an easy one."

"RAAA!!" (OWWW!!) Yoshi roared on-screen. Popo and Nana hadn't taken any damage, yet they had already sent Yoshi flying offscreen from two powerful slams of their hammers.

"Success!" Master shouted once again.

"New record!" Crazy announced.

"Sometimes these guys sound like programmed robots," Samus commented to Captain Falcon.

"I know what you mean," he replied. "Remember the first day we got here, when Joy said there's an even greater boss behind all of this? I bet Master and Crazy are just his assistants... his henchmen."

"..." Samus watched as Link and Marth both hoisted one of the Ice Climbers onto their shoulders, and the four of them were all laughing.

_But the question is, who's the brain behind all of this?_

"So, what about the multi-man Melee?" Ness asked. "That sounds interesting too!"

Crazy pointed a remote at the screen, and the screen switched over to the Multi-Man Melee options.

**10-Man Melee**

**100-Man Melee**

**3-Minute Melee**

**10-Minute Melee**

**Endless Melee**

**Cruel Melee**

"Puff Jiggly?" (Cruel Melee?) Jigglypuff asked with a shudder. "Ig jig puff jig jigglypuff." (I don't like the sound of that.)

"It's pretty challenging," Master agreed. "The wireframes- your opponents- are programmed to attack and attack until you're defeated... and there's no items, either!"

"So, anybody want to try out these? Or should we switch to the Event Matches again?" Crazy asked.

"I'll give it a try," Much to everyone's surprise, Marth had stepped forward to take the challenge. "I'll take on the 100-Man Melee!"

"Marth!" Link exclaimed. "You just got out of the medical ward, I don't think you should be fighting this soon!"

"Nonsense!" Marth laughed with a casual wave of his hand. "The doctor said we'd be fine to fight again-"

"Yeah, by tomorrow!"

"I feel just fine, I honestly do, Link! I can handle this fight!"

"But if something goes wrong..."

It was Master's turn to interrupt. "If something goes wrong, you can press this button over here, Link," He walked over to a control grid resting against the wall. Right in the center of the grid was a large red button, clearly sticking out. "Consider it as a reset button. If anything goes wrong in the fight, Marth, just give us a sign and we'll push the red button. All fighting will halt and all fighters will return to the elevator."

"I appreciate you worrying about me, Link," Marth stated quietly, "but I will be okay with Falchion by my side. You can stand on guard of the button, and if anything goes wrong, you have permission to press it."

"I'll make sure he doesn't over-react!" Roy added with a grin, popping up out of nowhere.

"Thank you," Marth replied with a smile. He swept his cape aside and stepped into the elevator, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

Marth reappeared on the same battlefield arena that Mario and Bowser had fought upon. Five fighters- two of them male, three of them female- materialized to fight Marth. He leapt towards a male and female and swung his sword forward in an arch to knock them off stage.

_How funny you always find yourself in these situations, Marth._ Crazy let his fingers stroke the secret remote he kept in his pocket. He exchanged a glance with his brother, both of them exchanging a smirk. Everyone's attention was focused on Marth swinging down a Shield Breaker technique on his thirteenth opponent, so they hardly paid notice.

_You'll pay for betraying our agreement, Marth!_

Marth grabbed a Poke'ball and tossed it against the head of a male fighter, earning his twentieth KO. A Zapdos flew out, zapping the other wireframes for KOs 21, 22, and 23.

A male wireframe snuck behind Marth and kneed him in the lower back. Marth grunted and stumbled onto the ground, but he swung his sword around his body as he stood up, knocking away two more wireframes.

Marth's KOs rose into the thirties... then the forties... then the fifties... and even beyond the sixties! His arsenal had included Falchion, a party ball, a star rod, a flower-like staff that sprouted flowers on top of enemies' heads (The "Lip's Stick", Master explained), and a screw attack orb. However, he had taken a great deal of damage after accidentally stepping onto a roaming Bomb-Omb.

"Saseru monoka!" Marth declared, countering a kick from a male wireframe for KO number seventy-eight.

The wireframes were now beginning to gang up on him. A female kicked him in the ankles twice, causing Marth to stumble forward into a heavy roundhouse kick from a male wireframe. Link tensed up, ready to strike the button, but Roy held him off.

"No, it's okay! He can't get hurt, remember?"

Link nodded, watching as Marth fell back down to the platforms, swooping his sword beneath him to kill three wire-frames.

Two wireframes materialized yet again, and a Bomb-Omb fell to the stage as well. The wireframes kicked Marth onto the bottom platform, where the Bomb-Omb was waiting.

"No way!" Marth shot back. He leapt up with his Dolphin Slash technique, to knock the two of them off the side of the stage... before he fell back down against the wandering bomb. Marth flew off the top of the screen with a scream, disappearing as a star.

"Marth!" Link gasped. He ran to the elevator, awaiting his return. The doors opened and Marth emerged, looking slightly tired but for the most part, he was fine. "You're okay, right?"

"Yes! I'm just a bit tired now, but I'll be fine in a moment. There's nothing to worry about, everyone. It's painless, but a bit challenging."

"So Marth now has the record with 83 KOs," Master stated. "Anyone want to top that?"

"Oooh! I'll go next!" Donkey Kong declared.

He stepped into the elevator and appeared a minute later on screen.

"I wonder what his strategy is?" Zelda pondered.

_This was a great idea!_ Donkey Kong thought to himself, heading for the edge of the bottom platform.

"Hey, what's he doing?" Fox asked. "A few hits over there, and he'll be sent falling to the bottom!"

**Bam-ba-BAM!! Bam-BAM-bam-babamBAM!! BAM!! BAMBAM-BA-BAM!! ((No Flinstones references implied.))**

Donkey Kong began pounding his hands against the platform, causing and wireframes who landed on the ground to go flying off the screen.

"Oh, I get it!" Kirby squealed. "The minute the wireframe guys land on the platform to attack DK, they get sent flying away!"

"Wish I had a move like that," Marth sighed as Captain Falcon brought him a bottle of water.

In merely twenty seconds, fifteen fighters had already been sent flying. After a minute, fifty of them were destroyed, and Donkey Kong had only taken 25 damage (due to Bomb-Omb complications)

Peach began to clap her hands and cheer. "Don-key Kong! Don-key Kong! Everyone, come on!"

"Don-key Kong! Don-key Kong!" Bowser didn't chant, but he at least clapped his claws together occasionally.

"Pi-ka Chu! Pi-ka Chu!" (Don-key Kong! Don-key Kong!)

"Jig-gly Puff! Jig-gly Puff!" (Don-key Kong! Don-key Kong!)

"Yo-shi Hup! Yo-shi Hup!" (Don-key Kong! Don-key Kong!)

Donkey Kong paused from pummeling the floor to grab a Poke'ball. And what luck! A Moltres was inside! Donkey Kong let the bird burn other fighters into oblivion while he pummeled the others that got too close. By the time Moltres had vanished, Donkey Kong had beaten Marth's record with 86 KOs.

"Keep going, Donkey Kong!" Marth cheered. "You're almost at 100!"

Three more females flew away. 89.

Two males stepped too close to DK. 91.

A rogue Bomb-omb caused havoc for a female on the top platform. 92.

For KO 93, DK grabbed a male and threw him behind his back, before leaping up to grab a Motion-Sensor Bomb. Ducking back down to his ledge-base, he tossed the bomb to the opposite side of the arena, where a male was unlucky enough to step onto it then go flying into his buddy right behind them. Two down, five to go.

And just to keep his streak going, Donkey Kong let the floor pummeling finish the others off.

"Three!" The watching fighters cheered. "Two! One!"

**BAM!**

The last wireframe flew off stage, and Donkey Kong successfully completed the challenge in 2 minutes, 21 seconds.

_Click_.

Just as a few of the fighters were about to step over to the elevator to congratulate Donkey Kong...

The familiar "A NEW CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED" words were spelled out on the screen.

**---------------------------------------------------------**

Donkey Kong found himself perched on one of the wings of the Great Fox, as it flew through the air at sunset.

"Okay, where am I?" he asked. "You guys... this isn't funny! Get me out of here, I want a snack!"

All of a sudden, a fighter leapt down in front of him. He was a blue falcon with red spots by his eyes, dressed in a white jacket similar to Fox's with a red bandana tied around his neck. He wore white pants and silver boots.

"I WANT FOOD NOW, AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO STOP ME!!" Donkey Kong declared, ambling over and grabbing the humanoid falcon above his head.

"Whoa, time out! What happened to your voice, Andross? I didn't even know you had a body! That'll just make it easier to kick your- UUUWAAHH!!"

Donkey Kong threw the falcon forcefully off the side of the ship, disappearing as he approached the ground below. The arena began to vanish and he felt a fizzy feeling in his stomach, before suddenly finding himself in the elevator again.

"Oh good, you're okay!" Marth stated in relief.

"Can I have a snack now?" Donkey Kong asked. "That fight made me really hungry."

"What would you like?" Zelda offered.

"Aren't-a you guys forgetting?" Mario asked. "The silver-a room?"

"Oh yeah!" Fox laughed. "I wonder who's inside? Like Falco?"

"Close, but not quite," Donkey Kong replied. "It was a blue falcon. But... I thought that was the name of your car, Captain?"

"It is," the bounty hunter replied.

Fox laughed even harder. "Wow, it really IS Falco! Let's go get him out of there, everyone!"

Everyone except for Captain Falcon ran from the room.

"What's the matter, Captain?" Crazy asked. "Aren't you excited about the guy who sounds like your car?"

He turned around to the brothers, his eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure why... but for some reason, almost every time we go out to fight, it ends with some new fighter appearing. And I think you guys have something to do with it."

"Well, isn't it exciting to see your old friends?" Master asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Perhaps, but you said this is reserved for the greatest fighters in existance. If someone like Bowser arrived with Mario, then the possibility of our enemies appearing is almost the same. Who's to say that the next new fighter isn't Link's enemy, Ganondorf, or one of my own enemies, such as Samurai Goroh or Black Shadow?"

"You're becoming paranoid," Crazy sang in a teasing voice to the bounty hunter.

"He's correct, Falcon, you're over-reacting. This is a safe facility meant for having fun and performing a study on your battling technique." Master added.

Before the racer could reply, Marth had stepped in and grabbed Falcon by the arm. "What are you guys talking about in here? C'mon, Captain, you MUST meet Falco! He has a fabulous sense of humor!" He dragged the bounty hunter out of the lobby and outside to where Falco was talking with everyone.

"Brother..." Crazy murmured. "I think Captain Falcon might be onto us..."

"We'll just see how long he's 'onto' anyone." Master replied. "If we can figure out some way to cover our tracks, then we can convince him to trust us again. But earning a bounty hunter's trust can be a very tricky thing to earn..."

**---------------------------------------------------------------**

Dinner was a choose-your-own-toppings omelet night, served by Ruby with help from Alice and Spike. Some of the fighters went light, such as Marth, with only cheese and tomatoes on his omelet; others went all out- Captain Falcon ordered his omelet with cheese, jalapeno peppers, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms on his. **((That omelet is actually known as the "bijoukaiba Special" MMM!!))**

Samus, Marth, Captain Falcon, and Roy sat together for dinner that night. Link had agreed to eat with Zelda, Mario, and the newcomer Falco that night, but he was only a table away from Marth and his other friends.

"I dunno, I think you've got to give each other some space," Falco commented. "You guys do everything together."

"We don't do _everything_ together," Link replied.

"Then why'd I see you walk out of the showers together?"

"We all-a have to take-a showers together."

"Man, you've gotta be kidding me!" Falco slapped a hand (technically a wing) to his forehead.

"You'll learn to adjust," Fox commented, walking past to return his dinner tray. "I did."

Crazy came forward to make announcements that evening.

"My brother went to tweak with some of the bugs in the battle system, so I'll handle announcements tonight." He took a deep breath, as if he were preparing for a great oration. "There are no real announcements tonight, as there will be no matches tomorrow."

"What?" someone asked from the group.

"Pi?" (Why?)

"Well, we've finally received our first volunteer for Adventure Mode, that's why."

Samus and Marth nearly choked on their omelets as the screen displayed:

**ADVENTURE MODE: CAPTAIN FALCON**

** -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Samus: Okay, miss authoress... you wanted to speak with me...?**

**Captain Falcon: And me as well- any reason?**

**bijoukaiba: Yes, I wanted to apologize for toying with you guys for the past few chapters.**

**Falcon: Well! Apology accepted.**

**Samus: How will you make it up to us?**

**bijoukaiba: I've actually decided to give you guys a promotion as well as a gift for you both (gives them packages)**

**Falcon: Heh! This keeps getting cooler and cooler! Are you promoting us to be the stars of the fic? What should we call it? "Bounty of my Heart"? (nudges Samus)**

**Samus: Wow! (pulls out a red dress with sequins)**

**Falcon: (pulls out a fancy white top, black slacks, and a red bowtie) This looks just like my garb from Falcon Densetsu...**

**bijoukaiba: (grins) The bowtie IS sexy. **

**Falcon: Indeed it is! So, about that promotion...**

**bijoukaiba: Well, I'm afraid I'm going to stop giving out intros and endings.**

**Link: (randomly pops in) Oh... that's depressing.**

**bijoukaiba: So, as of today... (louder, dramatic voice) YOU TWO SHALL BE THE HOSTS OF SWORDPLAY!!**

**Falcon and Samus: Say what?!**

**Marth: (randomly pops in too) Sorry, Link and I would've taken the part, but the authoress refused to give us the part since we're already the stars.**

**bijoukaiba: Go ahead, it's your job now!**

**Falcon and Samus: (sighs) Will the readers please review now?**

**Link and Marth: Good night, everyone!**


	12. Lucky Number 12

**Captain Falcon: Goooooooooood morning, everyone! And welcome to this fine installation of Swordplay!**

**Samus: I take it you're excited about this hosting job?**

**Falcon: Why not? I got to host my own TV show before this!**

**Samus: True, true.**

**Falcon: Anyway... last time, Marth, Link, Samus, and I finally returned from the medical ward to find everyone awaiting us. Four matches went by normally, then Event Matches and Multi-Man Melee Matches were introduced. Donkey Kong successfully completed the 100-Man competition, and ended up fighting yet another newcomer- Fox's buddy, Falco.**

**Samus: But you've become suspicious about all of these newcomers and you decided to investigate, didn't you?**

**Falcon: That's right! And I figured, what better way than taking on an Adventure?**

**Samus: Whoa, time's running out! I'm going to turn it over to our special guest for the disclaimer! (curtains open to reveal...)**

**Marth: (talking on a cell phone) So Link, d'you wanna catch a movie after the chapter?**

**Falcon: Marth! You're on!**

**Marth: (slams phone shut) I'm WHAT?**

**Falcon and Samus: Make the disclaimer!**

**Marth: Finally! _bijoukaiba doesn't own SSBM, Nintendo, or any of its related characters. _(curtains close)**

**Falcon: And that'll do it for our intro today! See you next time, everyone!**

**Samus: Bye!**

**----------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 12: Lucky Number 12 **

The next morning, breakfast came and went quickly, with bacon and eggs passed out. After giving food time to digest, everyone went to the battle tower to await the Adventure battle starring Captain Falcon. As they walked there, a few people noted that the air seemed much cooler this morning, and a few people complained of goosebumps. Master and Crazy had returned to make their announcements for the Adventure.

"Now, Falcon, there are twelve levels to fight your way through. You have five chances to make it all the way through. There'll be many opponents to fight, and some levels have special conditions to meet, like team battles or-" Master paused to catch Captain Falcon's eye. "racing to the end of a level. Are you ready?"

Captain Falcon cracked his knuckles and nodded.

"Go get them, Falcon!" Marth cheered. "You'll do great!"

Crazy took the attention once again. "There's a LOT of fighting to do in this. For our first match, I'll need Yoshi, Peach, and Mario."

The three residents of the Mushroom Kingdom glanced over at him.

"Just step in the elevator and you'll be brought to your destinations." They obeyed Crazy's instructions and entered.

"All right Falcon, when the elevator returns, you'll be ready to start your adventure. There's a minor waiting time between each level... that's just how big this game is."

Just as the elevator arrived, he could briefly hear Samus whispering, "Be careful. Good luck."

**---------------------------------------------**

**LEVEL 1: MUSHROOM KINGDOM**

The TV screen displayed several views of the level, clearly a long one, with brick platforms, pipes to stand upon, and walking brown mushrooms and turtles with red or green shells either walking or flying.

"The mushrooms are called Goombas," Bowser explained, "the walking turtles are Koopa Troopas, and the flying turtles are called Koopa Paratroopas."

"How do you know?" asked Link.

"Because some of them are my minions back in the REAL Mushroom Kingdom," the Koopa King replied.

"Look!" Marth exclaimed, attracting everyone's attention. "There's Captain Falcon!"

"READY... GO!!" Master announced.

Captain Falcon sprinted off of the pipe immediately, only to come crashing against a Goomba for 8 damage.

"That doesn't bode well for him, does it?" Popo commented. Bowser laughed.

Captain Falcon jumped on top of it, figuring out how to defeat it, and used the extra spring in his step to climb over the wall in front of him. Two more Goombas ambled toward him, and he jumped onto both of their heads to pass. He continued to sprint through his quest, kicking away the Koopa Troopas and Goombas that threatened him, until he finally reached a small lake, over-run with the flying turtles, the walking turtles, and the mushroom critters that opposed him.

_Looks like I'll have some extra jumps to make..._

Falcon leapt onto the back of a red Koopa Paratroopa, knocking its wings off as he sprang higher into the air. He performed a mid-air jump, then used his Falcon Dive technique for extra air. He let himself fall down, leaning his body to the right for extra distance. He finally landed on a small platform just above the water that was below two other platforms against the side of a small, round plateau. Falcon leapt onto the two platforms, then climbed on top of the plateau. The top was completely flat, with the grassy emblem of a mushroom carved into it. Popo, Nana, Pikachu, and Ness giggled to see Toad scrambling back and forth at the far edge of the plateau. Two slanted platforms hovered above the area.

"And here's where the first fight begins!" Crazy explained, clicking a button. "We have a special 'mirror' program to create artificial clones of a character to fight in mass teams!"

Just as he had explained, three Yoshis, in the colors of dark blue, yellow, and faint pink, dropped in to fight Falcon. Performing a roundhouse kick, he sent all three of them flying away. Three more fell into the arena. One managed to swipe Captain Falcon with its tail to increase his percentage to 18. He sent it flying with a powerful, flaming jab from his elbow and blasted away the other two with a Raptor Boost technique. Three more Yoshis tumbled in, then tumbled back out after a Falcon Kick. And the final Yoshi... what better finale than a Falcon Punch?

Seeing his battle was done, Captain Falcon leapt down on the right side of the plateau onto a long, green pipe extended across the other side of the lake, with Goombas travelling across it. Using his Falcon Kick technique, he blazed past all of the enemies in his way. He paused after crossing to eat a strawberry he found.

"He picked it up off the ground and ate it?" Samus asked.

"Sure, why not?" Master replied. "It helps recover damage, and besides, it was placed on a piece of wax paper so it wouldn't get dirty."

He was correct; Falcon's damage had dropped from 18 to 13. The bounty hunter leapt over to a final stretch of pure land, where checkerboard-printed land lay before him. He ran forward and crossed the finish line with 3 minutes and 12 seconds remaining. He had started the game with 5 minutes to clear the level, so he figured he had performed fairly well.

"GAME!" Master declared. Captain Falcon's score for the level was displayed, then the screen faded out to black. When it returned, Princess Peach's Castle could be seen.

"Look! There's Mario!" Roy called, pointing to the plumber on the screen.

Mario leapt up to the center of Princess Peach's Castle...

... When suddenly, a foot came crashing down onto his head. The foot was covered in a brown shoe, and this mysterious figure had legs clothed in denim, just like Mario. Oh, the drama! The fighters gasped for additional dramatic effect!

Mario was kicked backwards into the water with a cry, as the other fighter leapt forward. Much to everyone's surprise... he looked almost exactly like Mario, except he was taller, slimmer, had brighter eyes, and he was dressed in a green shirt and green cap with his overalls.

"GO!!" Master shouted to start the match. Princess Peach and "Mr. Green" walked towards Captain Falcon, prepared to fight. He performed a roundhouse kick to send Peach flying away, then grabbed Green and tossed him against Peach. Trying to launch himself back onto the castle's roof, Green shot his body forward in a puff of smoke, like a weaker version of Pikachu's Skull Bash attack. His launch failed, and like Peach he splashed into the water.

"GAME!" Master shouted. _I'm impressed. Falcon didn't take any damage... that round._

Mario and Peach emerged from the elevator, Mario clutching the top of his head.

"Chu pi pika?" (Are you okay?)

"Yeah, but that stomp-a on my head gave-a me such a headache. Mama mia..." he muttered. "Who was-a that jerk anyway?"

Peach laughed awkwardly. "Uh... heheh... that was your brother, Mario..."

"What did you-a say?!"

"That was Mario's brother?" Falco asked.

"Yes, I have a younger-a brother, Luigi," Mario said. "Just-a like how I wear-a red, Luigi likes to-a wear green."

"Did you guys even NOTICE?!" Ness shouted over the conversation. "I've been trying to get your attention! The room came back!"

"Yep, that's-a Luigi!" Mario commented.

"Then let's go see him!" Ness chirped. Many of the fighters followed him; Samus, Marth, Bowser, and Link stayed behind to keep track of Falcon. Donkey Kong was also pulled aside, as he was the next to fight Falcon.

"You're actually staying to watch Falcon?" Samus asked, surprised.

"Nope. I could care less about the birdbrain. I just would rather stay here than go out and see my second-greatest enemy who happens to be the younger brother of my greatest enemy." Bowser replied indignantly.

**LEVEL 2: KONGO JUNGLE**

Captain Falcon stepped onto the wooden 'island' out in the middle of a rushing waterfall. Two smaller versions of Donkey Kong landed on wooden platforms above him. Falcon made no attempt to pursue them, waiting instead on the same logs where he had landed.

_What's he doing?_ Marth thought to himself.

Then his questions were answered as Falcon lifted his leg a few inches off the ground and held it behind him, building up his potential energy. Donkey Kong and... Donkey Kong leapt down from the platforms and ambled over to the bounty hunter. When they were in close enough range... he slammed his leg forward in a sweeping kick and then swung it behind him to smack the other monkey away. Both of the clones were sent flying off the sides of the screen.

"All right Falcon!" Link cheered as Master declared the end of the match in the background.

The screen faded black for a few minutes, then the image of Jungle Japes faded onto the TV screen. Captain Falcon was waiting on the left side of the arena, Donkey Kong- now twice his normal size- was waiting on the right.

"Look at the size of him!" Marth marveled. "He's like the King of Kongs!"

Samus chuckled at his comments, though Marth couldn't figure out why. **((A/N: I hope you got that joke...))**

Donkey Kong leapt onto the center deck, where a small house could be seen. He spun himself around rapidly, swinging his arms around his body. Captain Falcon was caught in the vortex and he was smacked around eight times, enough for 40. He was thrown into the air above DK. Captain Falcon raised his knees to waist level, then jammed his feet down into the shoulder of the giant monkey for 17. Donkey Kong, in reply, swatted a hand above his head, smacking Falcon onto the deck on the left. He climbed back up and ran back to the monkey. Leaping up into the air, he pulled his fists back and slammed his knee forward into the arm of the monkey. He flinched as he was thrown backwards, into the space of water between the central deck and the one on the right. Just as he was about to grip onto the deck, a Klap Trap leapt up, bit him in the thigh, and dragged him into the dark waters.

"GAME!!" Master shouted.

As he said that, the other fighters came walking through the door. They all surrounded Luigi, who had now become their newest fighter.

"So, Luigi, where-a will you be rooming?" his older brother asked.

"Actually," Luigi replied, "I'm-a going to be staying in Room-a 15. I think that's-a on the third floor?"

Link and Marth turned around.

"Yes, it's on the third floor," Link commented.

"You'll be staying on the same floor as us!" Marth added with a smile. "My name is Marth,"

"And I'm Link," the Hylian said as he and the prince shook hands with the plumber. "And the other person on the same floor as you is actually the guy you fought earlier."

Luigi frowned. "You mean-a the guy who wears-a the red helmet? Seems a bit hostile to me-a..."

Marth immediately spoke up in defense. "His name is Captain Falcon. And no, he's not hostile at all!" What could almost be described as a 'dreamy' look appeared in the prince's eyes. "He's nice, and brave, and polite, and noble, and intelligent, and funny, and a good sport, and-"

"You can stop complimenting him now, Marth. I think he gets the idea." Link muttered with a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"Sorry, sorry!" Marth chuckled.

"Excuse me, Link!" Master called. "I need you for the next fight! Zelda, you too!"

He nodded and parted from the two men who lived on the same floor as him.

"So, how would you-a describe Link?" Luigi asked Marth as Link boarded the elevator.

"Link?" Marth asked, blushing faintly. "Hmmm... I don't even know where to start! He's definitely nice. He's also brave, and smart, and noble, and handsome... he's just... he's beyond my words to describe. You'd really have to get to know him." Marth smiled. "Link and Captain Falcon are really great guys- they're probably my best friends. I'm looking forward to getting to know you too, Luigi."

Luigi nodded with a grin and turned his attention back to the screen. "Look-a, Marth! The fight's about to start-a!"

**---------------------------------------------------------------------**

**LEVEL 3: HYRULE TEMPLE**

Captain Falcon appeared in a dark corridor in what appeared to be a giant temple. He glanced around himself briefly, before continuing down the corridor to a huge room in the temple. Everywhere, there were slow-moving creatures that almost appeared human- because they were zombies. Glancing down, Falcon could see a huge drop to the floor below. Giant drop or zombies?

Zombies. Falcon leapt onto the platform in front of him. Upon getting to his feet, one of the zombies immediately latched onto his shoulders with a loud moan, for 20 damage. The bounty hunter was left immobilized for a few seconds, then it stopped draining his energy. He yanked his shoulders free from its grasp, but he leaned so far backwards he tumbled off of the platform.

"Captain Falcon!" Samus shouted.

"FALCON KICK!!" in a bright trail of flames, he flew down to the left, close to the wall. He fell a few more feet before landing on a small stone floor to another corridor. The bounty hunter followed this trail until he came to a small room with a sword sticking into the floor.

_Should I go in to grab it?_

He stepped into the room, only to have everything around him grow dark and the sword before him disappeared. Link, dressed in his familiar green tunic leapt down from the heavens to fight. He swept his sword in front of him at Falcon, but he dodged by rolling behind the Hylian. He delivered a flaming jab to the back of Link's neck.

"Link!" Marth gasped.

Link turned around and slammed his sword into Falcon's shoulder, sending him flying backwards.

"Captain Falcon!" Marth cried.

"Oh brother! Whose side are you on?" Bowser asked impatiently.

Link shot an arrow into Falcon's upper arm, but he ignored it, grabbing Link. He threw the Hylian behind him and kicked him in the stomach, enough to send him out of the arena.

"Kyaah!" Link grunted.

The color returned to the screen, and the path to the rest of the temple was revealed. Captain Falcon ran through, only to find a low-ceiling hallway. What was worse, the whole floor in front of him seemed to be a pool of lava. Trying to jump over the pool would be difficult. Falcon attempted to get a running start, but it wasn't enough to propel his jump over the pit of lava. He fell into the red liquid, a quick sensation of heat flashing through his body. Like a trampoline, for some odd reason, he was bounced out of the lava and onto a small stone platform at the edge of the pool. What appeared to be a barrel-sized leech was lurking there too. Falcon had just gotten to his feet when suddenly the leech-like creature swallowed Falcon and spit him out against the wall. With a shout, he ricocheted off and was flung back into the lava pit, where he bounced back up again- but this time didn't land back on the stone platform.

Samus and Marth glared at Master and Crazy, who were laughing at the bounty hunter's misfortune.

Falcon panted heavily, sweat running down his neck. The lava's heat was starting to tire him out. His damage percentage now rested at 92.

"Wait a minute- I'm standing in it!" It hadn't burned him for a few seconds; it was almost like standing in a pool of water. Deciding not to wait for it to turn and burn him again, the bounty hunter leapt up towards a platform above him. With his mid-air jump and Falcon Dive technique, he landed on it successfully. There were several other platforms above him as well. He leapt up to each one until he spotted another room like the one he had previously fought Link in. Only this one had a rotating Triforce emblem. Falcon stepped cautiously into it, when suddenly-

"GAME!!" Master shouted.

"That's a relief," Marth sighed. "Falcon looked a bit overwhelmed... I don't know if he could have handled another fight so soon."

There was a pause of a few moments, then Captain Falcon emerged in the more commonly seen Hyrule Temple, his energy fully restored. Zelda could be seen on the opposite side, firing her Din's Fire attack at him. He performed a rolling dodge to avoid it, then jumped forward and kneed her in the stomach. He dropped to her knees and kicked him in the ankles twice, before slamming her hands into his torso with a burst of magic to send him flying backwards into a pillar.

"I see why you were undefeated, Princess," Falcon commented. "Fighting you face-to-face really shows what a warrior you are..." He dodged backwards as she threw a kick at him.

"Thank you," she replied, when he suddenly caught her by the arm and threw her behind him over the edge of the arena. She jumped in mid air to return to the platform, when she heard the most infamous phrase in all of Smash.

"FALCOOONNN... PUUUNCH!!!" She saw his fist, in the form of a flaming falcon. The punch slammed her squarely in the collarbone, knocking her backwards off the arena with a short shriek.

"GAME!" Master announced. The screen went black and Zelda and Link returned from the elevator.

"Now then, who wants lunch?" Master asked. Marth frowned.

"Wait a minute... what about Captain Falcon? Doesn't he get to eat too?"

Master shook his head. "No. He took the challenge, and he has to stick with it until he completes it! Now go get your food... you can bring it back here to watch the next match if you'd like..."

Crazy sniggered. "But I'd reccomend _you_ eat especially fast, Miss Aran,"

Samus glanced at him confused. His gloved hand pointed at the display screen behind her.

She turned around and gasped softly to see the words "Brinstar" printed on the screen.

**---------------------------------------------------**

Everyone sped through the cafeteria line, taking tacos or ravioli with them on a tray to return to the battle room.

"Hello Miss Aran," Ruby greeted with her traditional smile. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm in a hurry, so I need something quick and easy..."

"Perhaps a corn dog, or...?"

"No... hmmm... how about one of those instant ramen cups- yes, I think shrimp will be okay, a bag of chips, and an energy drink- the canned kind... please?"

"Very well... we have Star Power, Ultimate Race, Black Bull-"

"The race one, that's perfect! Do you have a pen and paper as well?" she said. Ruby handed her the food, paper, and pen. "Thanks!"

She carried it out on the tray to the battle room.

"Ah, a very fast meal indeed, Miss Aran... but don't you think you should have eaten it by now?" Crazy commented.

"I eat quickly," Samus lied, as she wrote something on the paper, "I can finish this meal in the elevator!"

"All right, go ahead, Miss Aran." she carried the food into the elevator, still writing.

The Brinstar screen suddenly went black, indicating the fight was about to start!

Marth's eyes were sparkling. "This is going to be such an exciting match! I can't decide who to cheer for!"

**LEVEL 4: BRINSTAR**

Captain Falcon appeared on the right side of the field; Samus Aran, clad in her Power Suit, appeared on the left, but she appeared to be kneeling before she stood up.

"The Battle of the Bounty Hunters..." Captain Falcon grinned. "I've been awaiting this match for a long time... too bad it's not official..."

Samus stepped carefully over the platform she had landed on, jumping to the center platform. Captain Falcon was puzzled by her cautious nature, but he followed her to the center platform as well. She leapt up and kicked him in the neck, but he returned the favor shortly after, by flipping in mid-air and kicking her under the chin. He landed on the base platform, positioning his body carefully. Samus tried to drop a bomb on him as she pursued him, but he spun his body around and leapt up quickly, hitting her with two poweful kicks. The bomb still fell on him, and he felt the same heat sensation he had experienced when he had fallen into the lava. Samus swung her cannon-arm underneath her, smacking Falcon into the ground. He rose to his feet by kicking her away when she landed. She shot a missile at him; Falcon put up his energy shield to block it.

The bounty huntress ran towards him, in an attempt to tackle him; the bounty hunter grabbed her by the shoulders and kneed her in the stomach twice, before slamming her to the ground. She rolled aside and got to her feet; she shot a missile at him that actually hit, then he came towards her at full speed with a Raptor Boost technique which knocked her into the air. He flew up after her with his Falcon Dive technique.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and planted his feet against the torso of her suit. He could vaguely see her eyes through the green visor of her suit. Then he kicked her down into the acid of Brinstar.

"Kyeh!"

Samus grunted as she fell off screen. _So, the hunter defeated the huntress... I'll get him next time..._

Captain Falcon returned to the platform Samus had landed on. He had been puzzled as to why she had taken such caution in stepping across it, when he noticed something that made him smile.

There was a tray of food, with a cup of noodles, a bag of chips, and an "Ultimate Race" energy drink. Come to think of it, he hadn't gotten much to eat today! There was also a piece of paper attached.

_Captain:_

_According to Master, you weren't allowed to leave until you completed the challenge. So I got you a little something. I hope this will give you an extra "boost" in your fights ahead, Captain, although you probably won't need it. You're doing a great job of fighting, and we're all rooting for you... especially Marth and myself. Keep fighting, Falcon._

_- Samus_

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------**

The screen had faded black after Samus had been defeated. She stepped from the elevator, removing her helmet, and was greeted by a few people applauding.

"Excellent fight!" Zelda cheered. "You and Captain Falcon had an excellent match! It's the best fight I've seen since Marth and Link were in battle!"

"Thank you," Samus replied, brushing some hair out of her face. "May I have a taco?"

Zelda glanced down at her food. "I hope you don't find me as rude, but didn't I already see you taking a tray of food with you into the elevator to eat?"

"Well, I don't have the tray with me, now do I?" Samus commented, showing her open hands. "I never said that _I _would be eating the food either..."

Zelda smiled in understanding. "In that case, please, help yourself."

Mario had overheard and added, "If-a you'd like some ravioli, you can-a take some too."

"Thanks, Mario."

"You must be thirsty! Here, have some soda!" Marth offered.

Samus smiled and sat down with the three of them to eat.

**--------------------------------------------------------------**

The fighters were given five minutes to clean up after themselves, then the Adventure continued. It had also given Captain Falcon a chance to finish the lunch Samus had brought him.

He stood up, but he already felt the urge to run. _That energy drink sure packed an extra kick!_

At that moment, he felt the ground shake beneath his feet, and the arena seemed to turn red in color. Multiple platforms suddenly appeared before him in the sky, as well as some rocky ledges. A siren could be heard blaring in the background.

The spectators watching this were also alarmed.

"What's going on?" Marth gasped. He pointed at Master and Crazy. "What's wrong? Did you two do anything?!"

"Yes," Master replied calmly. "We did this. But no, nothing's wrong. This is a normal part of the Adventure."

"Then what's with the loud noises?"

"Atmosphere," Crazy snickered. "To set the mood."

"He's being timed to get to the top as fast as he can," Master explained, gesturing to the screen.

Sure enough, Captain Falcon could be seen leaping higher and higher, sometimes using his Falcon Dive technique for extra boost. At last he reached the top, with six seconds to spare.

A brief movie showed the planet exploding (Marth squeaked, but Link assured him it was fine); however, a small white light could be seen streaking over to a giant yellow star.

"Based on your expression, Kirby, I probably don't have to tell you that you're next to fight." Master stated. "But first..."

He walked over to Marth without a sound.

"Yes...? Ow!" Master plucked a hair from the prince's head. "Hey! Don't mess with my pretty hair!"

"Why did you do that to Marth, Mas- yowch!" Master had also plucked a hair from Link's bangs.

Before he stepped over to Zelda, she asked him, "I can manage it myself, thank you. But first tell us WHY you need the hair."

"For Kirby's fight." Master explained. "We're going to have a multi-clone team of Kirby fighting him-"

"Sweet!" Kirby shouted.

"And I figured it would be more interesting to have him copy your abilities by absorbing just a little piece of you before he fights. It would certainly beat having only twelve Kirby warriors that all do the same thing." Master finished.

Zelda delicately fingered a lock of hair that rested behind her ear, then plucked a strand from it.

"Ooooh, me too!" Roy exclaimed, "I want my Kirby identity to fight the Captain!" He put a hand into his wild, fiery locks and ripped out several strands.

"Thank you, but I only need one." Master replied, pulling out a bright red strand from Roy's hand.

Fox, DK, and Pikachu also gave him a strand of fur. Peach, Mario, and Ness each gave him a strand of hair as well. Falco plucked a blue feather from his arm, and Yoshi handed Master a piece of white and green eggshell.

He put all of the samples into a bag and handed them to Kirby.

"Hold onto these; you'll need them for the second part of your match." Master explained.

**LEVEL 5: GREEN GREENS**

Captain Falcon found himself in the familiar bright surroundings of Green Greens. Much like he had expected, his opponent was Kirby. He immediately dashed forward and rammed Kirby with his shoulder. The puffball-like warrior was sent backwards a short distance, but he countered by spinning his body around and sticking his arms and feet out to hit Falcon several times.

Falcon hit Kirby with a flaming jab from his elbow, with enough force to send Kirby flying backwards into a wall of blocks, including an explosive one with a picture of a bomb on it. Kirby flew off into the sky... and collided with the screen.

A brief five minute interval was given for Kirby to be cloned, and to give each of his duplicates a piece of the other fighters to absorb.

"All right!" said the original Kirby, who now sported Roy's wild red hair, headband, and a mini sword, "Let's go fight a Falcon!"

Three of the Kirbys flew in on Warp Stars to fight the bounty hunter- one had a red cap on, one had dark fur patched on his body like Donkey Kong, and the other wore a pink and white headdress.

Falcon did a backflip and kicked away the furry Kirby and the one with the headdress. The one in the cap shot a fireball at Falcon as his allies came in to fight- one had blue hair and a sword like Marth, and the other was wearing a baseball cap.

"PK Flash!" shouted a Kirby in a cute squeaky voice. Falcon fell to his knees and swung his legs to the side to kick the PK-ing Kirby away. Returning to his feet, he delivered a combo of punches to knock away the Mario-Kirby.

"Eeyah!!" The tiny Marth Kirby had launched a Shield Breaker against Falcon's shoulder for a decent 17 damage. Falcon turned around and grabbed the Kirby, kneed him once, then threw him up into the air. The Marth-Kirby crashed into the incoming Link-Kirby, sending both of them flying off. The Yoshi Kirby came in after Link-Kirby had been smacked out, and Falco-Kirby and Pikachu-Kirby had come in to avenge the Marth and Mario ones. Falcon swung his leg forward and behind him in a sweeping kick to knock away the Yoshi and Pikachu ones, but the latter managed to zap him briefly. Falco-Kirby shot the captain twice, before getting a Raptor Boost to the face. Finally, the final three Kirby identities- Fox, Peach, and Roy- flew in to fight the bounty hunter. With a shout of "Falcon Kick!", the bounty hunter sped across the main platform, knocking the final trio of puffballs back into the air. He had completed the match in 47 seconds.

The screen faded black briefly, then one lone Kirby emerged from the elevator.

"Good fight, Kirby! How do you feel?" Fox asked.

"My stomach feels funny, but other than that I'm fine," Kirby replied, going over to stand with Jigglypuff.

"All right. Fox, Falco, we need you for this round." Master stated, pointing to the elevator. "Well... we might not need Falco, but we definitely need Fox."

The two Lylatians stepped into the elevator, Fox waving to Zelda and Roy before the door closed.

"You ready for this, Falco? This might be your first official fight, you know."

**--------------------------------------------------------**

**LEVEL 6: CORNERIA**

Fox dropped onto the back of his beloved ship, the Great Fox, to fight against Captain Falcon. He ran forward, prepared to deliver a running kick strike. He kicked Captain Falcon at the same time as he delivered a flaming elbow to Fox's jaw. The vulpine warrior was thrown backwards a considerable distance, and even Captain Falcon had to shake off the impact, but they both stepped back into the fray of battle.

"FALCON..."

"Oh no you don't!" Fox leapt up and spun his body around, drilling his feet into the bounty hunter's shoulder. The punch was interrupted, but Captain Falcon shook off the blow and retaliated by performing a roundhouse kick that slammed Fox in the neck and sent him tumbling off the back of the screen. This victory came at a much more impressive time of 12.32 seconds. The screen froze briefly, then showed a short movie.

Three jets came flying in, and the bottom of the screen showed a picture of what appeared to be a rabbit- or perhaps a hare- speaking on a communication device.

"Fox! Are you all right?"

A green frog appeared next. He had a high pitched voice that could get annoying after hearing it for a while.

"Looks like we're just in time!"

The fighters held their breath, awaiting to see if there was any sign of Falco being next to fight. Instead, he was next to speak.

"Sheesh! You're such a pain!"

His communicator closed, and the three jets flew off. Two seconds later, the next fight started. Fox was now clad in a red jacket and his damage percentage had returned to zero, like Falcon's.

Fox ran forward and kicked Falcon backwards. The bounty hunter was caught off guard and stumbled slightly. Fox stepped forward again and punched Falcon twice, then started barraging him with kicks. They gradually made his percentage rise until he slid backwards out of range and delivered a barrage of punches in return. Captain Falcon leaned forward and grabbed Fox by the jacket, kneed him in the stomach, then slammed him against the ground. Falcon got to his knees to try out a familiar move.

"FALCON..."

By the time Fox had stood up to try and escape, it was too late.

"PUNCH!!"

The pilot flew backwards in a stream of fire off the side of the screen, but not before his buddies in the Arwings shot Falcon three times and brought him to the ground.

Fox and Falco emerged from the elevator a few moments after Master declared the match over.

"I just don't get it... why didn't you get to fight?" Fox asked his fellow pilot.

"Hell if I know," Falco replied, "but I did shoot Captain Falcon for ya. I scored the first hit on him, in fact. By the way, I swear I heard Peppy and Slippy over the Arwing's communicator, but maybe it was just me."

"That can't be! Peppy and Slippy aren't anywhere around here. It must have just been a computer simulation." Fox answered. _But programming that into the arena? Maybe Master and Crazy know more about our homes than we realize..._

"Guys? Everything okay?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah... we're cool." Falco replied.

"Very well then," Master interrupted. "We're going to start our next match now. Pikachu, Jigglypuff, you're up next."

**LEVEL 7: POKE'MON STADIUM**

Captain Falcon found himself standing on the turf of the Poke'mon Stadium, three Pikachus falling from the sky to fight him. He exhaled deeply, wiping some sweat from his neck.

_How many more levels do I have to go through?_

He spotted a familiar red and white ball on the platform across from him and leapt towards it. He grabbed it and threw it to the ground. A purple ball-like Poke'mon came out and hovered in the air. It began spewing scentfree gas around its body that still sent shockwaves out to the foes that touched it. Captain Falcon ducked underneath the platform and ran off to kick some Pika-butt! He grabbed one Pikachu and threw it against the fumes. It rocked off of the gas and off the side of the arena as if it had hit a brick wall.

_Cool._

He spotted another Poke'ball and threw it at the other two Pikachu. The one that got hit was thrown off of the arena. Out of the Poke'ball came a large, red, dragon-like creature with wings that began breathing fire on both sides of its body. The other Pikachu was toasted and thrown into the sky. An incoming Jigglypuff and Pikachu were also subdued by the flames, but two more Pikachus came in to replace them.

_Hey, why let all the Poke'mon take the glory?_

Captain Falcon ignored another Poke'ball that had come onto the arena, and leapt forward with his Raptor Boost attack, slamming away a Pikachu. The other two shot a Thundershock attack at him, both successfully jolting the Captain. He turned on them with a Falcon Kick. His final three opponents, two Pikachus and a Jigglypuff, came in to finish the fight.

_On second thought, we'll make the finale a TRUE Poke'mon battle!_

Captain Falcon leapt onto a platform and grabbed a Poke'ball. He held it into the air and shouted for dramatic effect.

"Mighty Poke'mon, hear my cry! Unleash the power you hold inside! GOOOO!!" He threw the Poke'ball at the feet of the other three Poke'mon.

"Goldeen, goldeen."

Everyone watching the match either burst out laughing or sighed.

The bounty hunter clapped a hand to his forehead (or he would have, if it weren't for the helmet). "Let's try that again." He grabbed another Poke'ball. "POKE'MON, GO!!"

A large bird with plumage of different colors hovered out of the ball then flew toward the horizon. It suddenly began to flap its wings furiously, and a huge flaming tornado erupted where it had been summoned. The three Poke'mon were sent tumbling around inside it, like a Poke'mon flambe prepared in a blender. When the tornado subsided, the three Poke'mon were sent spiraling off into the sky.

"THAT'S more like it!" Captain Falcon shouted.

Master announced the end of the match, and the Poke'mon- now without clones- stepped from the elevator.

"Let's start the next round. I think it'll be quite fitting." Crazy commented.

Several fighters grinned when they saw the next stage.

**LEVEL 8: F-ZERO GRAND PRIX**

Captain Falcon dropped onto the road beneath his feet. It was hovering above beautiful blue waters and a winding track could be seen in front of his eyes, as well as several pink platforms that were raised above the surface of the water.

_It's nice to see Big Blue again. Ahh... home, sweet home! But if this is the race track, then there must be..._

At that moment, he took off sprinting down the road. To the spectators, the background seemed to just fly past as he ran. Clearly, the bounty hunter had to be the fastest runner of them all.

"He's so fast!" Peach marveled. "Yet I can't help but wonder why he took off so quickly..."

A small flashing emblem with an exclamation mark began flashing and beeping at the bottom of the screen.

"I don't know, but I think we're about to find out!" Kirby gasped.

Captain Falcon turned his head quickly at the sound of the beeping, and spotted the F-Zero machines approaching, led by a blue car out in front.

_Sweet! I'm winning!_

Glancing up, he spotted the underside of a platform. With a running leap, he climbed on top of the platform and watched the racers drive by. After the last car went past, he leapt down and continued sprinting until the road ended above a stretch of water. The next piece of track was a jump away. Taking a few steps back, Captain Falcon ran forward and leapt, then ran across the track until reaching another gap. He leapt across it, back to the main road. He ran across a short piece of the main road, where two pink platforms were suspended in mid-air. The beeping sound filled the air again.

"Puff, Jiggly! Puff!" (Jump, Captain! Jump!) Jigglypuff pleaded with the big screen.

Sure enough, Captain Falcon leapt onto the pink platform and ducked; however, the F-Zero machines were flying well above his head. After they passed, he stood up and jumped to the next platform with the help of his Falcon Dive technique. He leapt up and over to the main road. He could see the checkered pattern of the finish line on the road in front of him. He sprinted forward, ready to finish the race, when suddenly the beeping sound filled the air again... and the nearest platform was a fair distance behind him.

_It's too late to go back now! _He told himself. A smile passed over his face. _Now the race comes down to the Falcons: Captain versus Blue!_

He sprinted forward with all his might, but the cars still proved faster. Captain Falcon was rammed by his beloved Blue Falcon, taking 35 damage, but he was thrown across the finish line... so he had technically finished the race after all.

The screen faded black briefly, then redisplayed the Mute City arena.

"Hold on a minute..." Marth gasped. "Look at the screen!"

The match-up was Captain Falcon... versus Captain Falcon. On the left side of the screen was the bounty hunter clad in dark blue that everyone knew well; the one on the right was dressed in red with dark purple gloves, boots, and a dark purple helmet to match.

_So I'm fighting myself in this match? How clever, they even dressed 'me' up like my evil clone!_

Before Captain Falcon could react, his clone dove forward and rocketed him skyward with a Raptor Boost attack. Flames engulfed his body, but he slammed his two feet down into the shoulder blades of his duplicate. Captain Falcon landed as his copy returned to his feet. He ambled over to the Captain, who used a round kick to tap him away.

_Well, one thing's for certain: He didn't copy my brain!_

The clone shook off the blow and started to walk back towards the racer.

_I have to time this just right..._

He got down on his knees after about two seconds.

"FALCON..."

At that moment, his clone pulled his arm back swiftly and dove forward in a Raptor Boost attack.

"...PUNCH!"

Both Falcons were hit, but the clone was sent flying off the edge of the arena. The real Captain was thrown a short height into the air.

"Game!" Master declared. "All right, next fight belongs to Ness. Get in the elevator, kid."

"Go get-a him, tiger!" Mario encouraged as Ness grinned and waved from the elevator.

"He's gonna get knocked off in under ten seconds..." Bowser muttered to himself.

**LEVEL 9: ONETT**

Captain Falcon landed on the bright red roof of a sunflower-yellow house. His opponent, Ness, landed on the blue roof of a house far across from him. Two clones of Ness dropped in as well: one on top of a striped sunroof at the drugstore, the other one on the grass.

Deciding not to waste time by tracking down each copy and eliminating them alone, he decided to try and lure them out to one area together before attacking them all together. He waited a few moments for Ness, Ness, and Ness to start approaching, then leapt up to the second sunroof of the drugstore. He turned his back to them and crouched, then when he felt them land on the sunroof, he spun around and performed two high kicks, sending them flying off in the air as stars.

_That was short._ Captain Falcon thought to himself. _The kid didn't even get a chance to hit me..._ _maybe I should have let him get in a punch or two..._

Ness- the real one, alone- stepped out of the elevator. He clearly appeared frustrated, and did his best to avoid eye contact with Bowser.

"Well, at least it didn't count towards your record," Link commented.

"Yeah, there's always next time!" Kirby added.

Luigi tapped Marth on the shoulder. "I don't see why-a the kid is so-a frustrated. A lot of-a us have lost to-a Captain Falcon today too,"

Marth sighed and explained softly, "The truth is... Ness hasn't won a single fight since he got here, and it's really starting to frustrate him."

"Popo and Nana! Ice Climbers, it's time for your fight!" Master declared.

**LEVEL 10: ICICLE MOUNTAIN**

A white snowy mountainside with platforms of steel, rock, and solid ice set the arena for the tenth fight of the day. The temperature was considerably colder in this arena; Captain Falcon could even see his breath.

_I better keep moving to stay warm... and the only way out is up!_

He began to jump to the platforms to climb up the mountainside. About four platforms up, a white hairball came skating into him. Captain Falcon considered it an enemy and kicked it aside. Several more platforms up, he came face to face with a polar bear standing upright and wearing sunglasses and pink shorts. He decided it was also an enemy, but judging by its slow pace it couldn't do much harm and it might be heavy and hard to kick out of the arena.

The fighters watched him jump up further and further until he finally encountered Popo and Nana and another Ice Climber team. He used a Falcon Kick to knock them into the air, then elbowed the duplicate team off the side of the arena. A giant mallet smacked him over the head, cartoon style. Nana had just hammered Captain Falcon.

_That one's for you, Ness! I hope you saw that!_

"You know, he might need some aspirin after the adventure," Peach said.

Captain Falcon dove forward with the Raptor Boost technique, sending Popo and Nana into the air, then got down to his knees.

"FALCON..."

"...PUNCH!!!" several fighters cheered as he punched the Ice Climbers, sending them both off the left side of the arena.

They left the elevator appearing fairly satisfied.

"He's a good fighter, isn't he?" Popo commented to his best friend.

"I liked the part when I hit him with my hammer!" Nana giggled.

Master laughed out loud. "Haha!! Moving on, I need Mario for this next fight... and Luigi too, if you'd like to."

"Should I?" Luigi asked Marth. The prince grinned.

"Go for it! Brothers as allies!"

"That's-a right, Luigi! We're a great-a team!"

Crazy handed them green boxes with silver exclamation marks on them.

"You'll be needing these. Careful how you hold them! Hitting the mark will activate the effects, and you need them for your fight."

Boxes in hand, the plumber brothers stepped into the elevator.

**LEVEL 11: BATTLEFIELD**

In the midst of pure darkness, Captain Falcon found himself standing on one of three levitating platforms above a larger one. The larger platform seemed to be levitating with the powers of a crystal orb at its base. It was also emanating some light, which was why Captain Falcon could still see his hands in front of his face. At that moment, five wireframes teleported onto the arena.

"Falcon Kick!" he shouted, blazing a flaming trail to the platform across from him. He knocked away three wire frames in that one hit. He jumped up and threw out two kicks to knock away a fourth wireframe. He noticed that he had jumped fairly high into the air and that he was gently floating towards the ground.

_This stage has different gravity than all the others! I'm practically flying!_

An amused smile passed over his face briefly, but disappeared after getting kicked by a male wireframe. He returned to his feet and barraged it with punches to send it flying away. He used Raptor Boost to eliminate two female wire frames, and used a flaming jab from his elbow to take out a male and female- by a stroke of good fortune, the male collided with another female and sent her flying off as well. Two seconds of silence, then five wireframes teleported in- two males, three females. He waited for them to group together, then led them to the platform in the right, where there was open airspace above their heads. He jumped above them and let gravity lower him until he was in striking range. He slammed his feet down with enough force to knock all of them off at the same time.

Everything was quiet.

Or, as the cliched line would say, _too quiet._

A thrumming sound filled the air, and Mario and Luigi came flying onto the top platform... but they looked quite different. Both of their bodies had been covered by a metal layer. It was practically liquid because it fit the forms of their bodies precisely; they looked like little platinum statues of their true forms. Both of them returned to their feet, then ducked below the platform to land on level with the bounty hunter. He jabbed them away, then used a Falcon Kick to knock one of them aside- in their metal forms, he couldn't quite tell them apart. The other brother squeezed his fists tight and launched himself like a rocket at Captain Falcon. He headbutted him in the stomach, earning a winded grunt from the racer. He pulled his foot back and used a sweeping kick to knock him away, off the side of the arena. The metal suit greatly weighted him down, and Luigi fell to his doom.

_That's their disadvantage! The metal suit acts like armor, but it acts like an anchor too! If I can get Mario off of the arena, the metal's weight should pull him down too quickly for him to recover!_

Captain Falcon approached Mario and used a sweeping kick to knock him off the smaller platform. He flew off, but recovered quickly enough to land on the large one. Captain Falcon had prepared for this by ducking to the same platform and pulling back his elbow for potential energy. When Mario found footing upon the platform, he was greeted by a flmaing jab to the face. He soared off the edge in a low trajectory, falling to his doom like his younger brother.

Mario and Luigi exitted the elevator, shaking hands.

"Good-a fight, brother!"

"Same-a to you!"

"Speaking of which..." Master added. "It's time for the final fight of the day."

"Seriously?" Marth gasped. "Who's his last opponent?"

"You are," Crazy replied.

"Really?!" Marth appeared excited and nervous at the same time.

"No," Master replied.

Bowser laughed.

"... Bowser is."

The Koopa King stomped over to the elevator.

_Of course._

**LEVEL 12: FINAL DESTINATION**

Captain Falcon stepped upon a flat platform. There were no hidden obstacles or levitating platforms here.

_Clearly, they didn't want any distractions here. This is an arena for a true fight based only on the skills of the fighter. And if that's the case, then this is probably my last opponent... and the toughest one too._

Sure enough, Bowser appeared on the opposite side of the arena, appearing slightly larger than normal.

_I knew it!_

Captain Falcon ran forward and rammed Bowser with his shoulder. The overgrown Koopa flinched slightly, then swiped his claws twice to knock the bounty hunter away, then ambled closer.

"Falcon Kick!" upon standing up, he jabbed Bowser in the chest. "HOOAH!"

Bowser grunted as he stumbled backwards, then began spewing flames. Captain Falcon was in close range and therefore got scorched for a long time. When the flames died down, he jumped out of range.

_Sure, I can outpower him with speed... but he's much heavier, so he's got more power plus he's harder to knock off the stage. And if I try to get close, he just goes after me with that hot breath of his! Attacking from a distance is my best bet, but I don't have any projectiles at my disposal!_

A Super Scope landed at his feet at that moment.

_... Or do I?..._

He picked it up.

_I wasn't expecting items in this fight, but I'll use them if they're available!_

He charged up a shot.

"I don't think so!" Bowser mocked. He put up his shield as the semi-charged shot hit.

Captain Falcon set the gun to rapid fire, shooting little blasts rapidly in a high number. Each one pummeled Bowser's shield, breaking it little by little.

"I've got to time it just right..." he told himself. A few shots later, the shield shattered.

"He broke it! He broke it!" Roy cheered.

Bowser was still standing, but he was clearly stunned by his shield's destruction. He was quite wobbly on his feet. Captain Falcon tossed the gun aside and dashed forward in front of Bowser. Standing in close range, he got to his knees.

"PIKACHU PIKA!!" (EVERYONE SAY IT!!) Pikachu screamed enthusiastically. Sure enough, everyone- even Master and Crazy!- shouted it along with the bounty hunter.

"FALCON... PUNCH!!!"

Bowser was whacked in the face and was flung off the right side of the arena with a short roar.

"GAME!!" Master declared.

In victory, Captain Falcon pulled off his helmet and held it under his left arm, saluted with his right hand, and proudly declared, "Show me your moves!"

Bowser reappeared from the elevator as the shooting game appeared on screen.

"You did a good job fighting, Bowser," Zelda commented politely.

"Yeah, yeah..." he took a deep breath. "... Thanks..."

The shooting game came to an end at last, and the screen faded out to black. Everyone held their breath, expecting the warning of a new challenger to appear on screen...

But it didn't. The elevator reached the bottom safely, and Captain Falcon, helmet in hand, exitted safely. Everyone applauded him for a fight well done.

"You didn't even lose a single stock!"

"Great fight, Captain!

"You showed-a some good strategies, Captain-a."

Captain Falcon chuckled. "Thanks, everyone!"

"That was a great finale, Captain Falcon!" He recognized the voice immediately. But what he didn't expect was to be hugged around the waist. "I always knew you'd fight well... but that was incredible! It's nice to see you again!!"

Captain Falcon laughed, although perhaps a bit awkwardly. "It's nice to see you too, Marth." The prince released his grip as the bounty hunter walked through the crowd to greet some of the others.

"You know-a," Luigi commented, "I thought at-a first you meant to hurt-a me, but Marth explained everything-a. He said that-a you're a nice-a guy too. Which is-a good, because I'm-a staying on the third-a floor too! My name-a is Luigi,"

"Well, we got some more company! Marth probably told you my name too, but I believe a formal introduction would be more proper. Nice to meet you, Luigi, I'm Captain Falcon." The bounty hunter shook hands with the plumber.

At last, he finally made his way over to Samus.

"You're welcome... for lunch, I mean." She told him. Captain Falcon grinned.

"What? No 'welcome back' hug?"

"... How about just a pat on the back..." she patted his shoulder. "You owe me."

"Yeah, yeah..." Falcon laughed.

"Dinner will be served shortly," Master stated, interrupting the good mood. "So get down there if you want supper."

Samus walked off, and Falcon watched her go. As she stepped out the door with Zelda and Jigglypuff, she turned to smile at him.

Falcon smiled back and waved as she left, still watching the door. Sure she had always smiled at him... but something about her seemed _different _this time.

"Captain Falcon?" Link asked, waving a hand in front of his eyes.

"Yes? Ah, Link. What's up?"

"I wanted to ask if you'd join Luigi, Marth, and I for dinner? You know, a 'third-floor' sort of thing."

"Sounds good to me. Let's go, they can't hold our seats forever!"

**----------------------------------------------------------------------**

Everyone was seated to enjoy sweet & sour shrimp, chicken, and pork with vegetable lo mein. As usual, about halfway through dinner, Master had stepped forward to make his announcements.

"I see that Ruby has once again succeeded in pleasing everyone with her cooking!"

"I'll-a say!" Luigi commented to Marth, who was sitting next to him.

"First off, I'd like to welcome Luigi to the Suites. I hope you will enjoy your stay here. Second, I'd also like to congratulate Captain Falcon once again for his excellent performance in Adventure Mode. Now, here's where we get to business. I'm sure you've noticed that it has gotten a bit cooler outside. That's because we are now approaching winter. There will be recognition of the holidays and no fighting will be assigned on those days. Now then, as for fighting..."

Falco and Luigi grinned. Finally, the time to prove themselves as fighters had come!

"... there will be no fighting tomorrow, Thursday, or Friday in recognition of Thanksgiving. Monday, we will resume fighting. The good news is that during that wait, we will be installing two new fighting arenas. That being said, here are the assigned fights."

_**DAY OFF: SAMUS, DONKEY KONG, JIGGLYPUFF, NESS**_

_**Mute City: 10:00 a.m.**_

_Zelda vs. Marth_

_**Fountain of Dreams: 10:45 a.m.**_

_Mario vs. Roy_

_**Big Blue: 11:30 a.m.**_

_Yoshi vs. Fox_

_**Princess Peach's Castle: 1:30 p.m.**_

_Falco vs. Dr. Mario_

_**Termina: 2:15 p.m.**_

_Kirby vs. Link_

_**Onett: 3:00 p.m.**_

_Peach vs. Luigi_

_**Mushroom Kingdom: 3:45 p.m.**_

_Ice Climbers vs. Bowser_

_**Green Greens: 4:30 p.m.**_

_Captain Falcon vs. Pikachu_

"That is all. Have a nice evening; and I hope to see you all here for fighting on Monday."

**--------------------------------------------------------------**

**Captain Falcon: And that concludes our chapter for today.**

**Samus: The authoress would like to apologize for the extreme delay; it was caused by vacation, AP classes, and much more.**

**Captain Falcon: You gotta admit, this was a pretty lengthy chapter too.**

**Samus: According to my stats, this has been the second longest chapter written to date! So, anyway, let's give our guest speaker today a big thank you.**

**Marth: I was glad to be your first guest! (smiles) I shall also do the honors of politely asking the readers to leave a review.**

**Captain Falcon and Samus: Thanks for reading! Keep your eye out for Chapter 13! See you later!**


	13. Her Choice

**Captain Falcon: Welcome back to Swordplay!**

**Samus: We're close to setting up a new story arc here; you'll see what it is soon!**

**Captain Falcon: It has also come to our attention the author may start doing "time skips".**

**Samus: Meaning she won't do every single day of life at the Battle Royale Suites, because that would take too long.**

**Captain Falcon: Come to think of it, this chapter is also like that, because we skipped the weekend.**

**Samus: Oh, yeah. Anyway, here's our guest for the disclaimer today!**

**Roy: Cool! I'm on TV!**

**Captain Falcon: Not technically. Just read your lines.**

**Roy: Fine, fine. _bijoukaiba doesn't own Nintendo, SSBM, or any related franchises and characters._**

**Samus: That'll do it for the opening! See you next time!**

**--**

**Chapter 13: Her Choice**

The weekend break was finally over, and leftovers had been completely eaten after three days. Bowser, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Kirby, and Roy had been major help by eating a lot of the food for meals other than dinner- Roy and Kirby had eaten turkey sandwiches for lunch, and Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Yoshi would take an extra scoop of stuffing or green bean casserole with their meals.

Over the five day break, the temperature began to drop outside. The fighters were given a new supply of clothes to add to their wardrobes- long pants, jackets, scarves, mittens, hats, and flannel pajamas.

One event of major importance was a fight nearly broke out again between- who else?- Roy and Fox. They were fighting over- who else?- Zelda. As she spotted them bickering, she just left the room calmly. A few seconds later she heard shouting, and glancing behind her she could see Captain Falcon and Falco restraining Fox, and Link and Marth restraining Roy. She was starting to regret ever befriending either of them. She wanted the fighting to end that badly.

At last the weekend came to a close, and before they realized it, Monday morning was upon everyone. The fighters groaned when they were awakened by their usual alarms; already they missed sleeping until noon.

_Tap-tap!_ Someone was knocking at Captain Falcon's door.

"Come on, just five more minutes!"

"Samus is with us!"

About five seconds later, a fully dressed Captain Falcon opened the door. No Samus, but Link and Marth were standing outside. Both of them were grinning as if they were ten years younger.

"Very funny." the bounty hunter remarked. "What's up?"

"Look out the window!" Marth said with glee.

"What...?"

"You heard him, look out the window!" Link exclaimed. Captain Falcon stepped back into his room. Without being invited, Link and Marth followed him in.

Captain Falcon didn't technically have to look _out_ of his window; he had just noticed frost on it for the first time that morning. Taking a proper glance outside, he could see that much of the grass and even parts of the tan sand was covered by a cold blanket of white fluff.

"So, you've-a noticed the snow too?" asked a voice. The newest member of the Battle Royale Suites, Luigi, was standing in the doorway. He was dressed in his typical long-sleeved green shirt and denim overalls, only he now had a green scarf wrapped around his neck as well. "You might-a want to wrap up a little-a more, if you know-a what I mean. I've-a heard some of the others saying it's-a supposed to be about seventeen degrees-a outside."

"What are degrees?" Link asked Captain Falcon.

"They refer to temperature. The smaller the number, the colder it is outside. Therefore, it's pretty cold out."

"You learn something new everyday," Marth commented. "I'm going to run back to my room and grab a scarf. Then let's go down to get breakfast!"

"Be sure to grab-a something hot... like-a hot chocolate!" Luigi suggested, walking off. Captain Falcon and Link followed him.

As Marth was in his room wrapping a blue scarf around his neck, he could hear Roy arguing with someone in the hallway- this time, it was Zelda.

"I mean, come on! If he could just see he doesn't have a chance-"

"Roy, I'm NOT going to hear it. It's not your fault. It's not Fox's fault. You're_ both_ responsible for the fight. I'm not going to pick either side."

The prince peeked out of his room briefly to tap Zelda on the shoulder and pull her into his room.

"Zelda? Where'd you go?" Roy asked, glancing around the hall.

Marth placed a finger to his lips, indicating for the princess to be quiet. She nodded.

"Everything all right, Zelda?" he whispered. She shook her head in reply.

"They're both still going at it. Fox and Roy, I mean." she whispered. "I don't know how much longer I can keep telling myself I can't pick one of them."

"Don't worry, Princess, if they truly care about you- did you say _yourself_?"Marth asked in a soft voice. Zelda nodded.

"I'm afraid the only way to make them stop arguing is to just pick one and get it over with. Then there's the matter of the other person, who'd be heartbroken. Plus, the person I choose would just rub it in their face..."

"Then you have to say it as fair as possible to both of them. Perhaps, to deal with the heartbreak, you could warn your choice that you'll date the other if they insult the person that didn't get picked."

Zelda perked up. "I was the one gifted with Wisdom... yet I never thought of it that way!" She gave Marth's hands a friendly squeeze. "Thanks! The only question that remains is how to choose..."

"That's the part I'm not sure about either," Marth sighed. "Maybe you ought to seek the advice of another woman... how about Samus?"

Zelda pondered this for a moment, then smiled at the prince.

"I'll speak with her at breakfast."

**--**

Ruby had taken the cold weather into account, and prepared a warm breakfast. Hot oatmeal was being served, with a sprinkle of cinnamon in the center to give the color some pizazz. It also created a sweet perk in the mouth upon consumption. Piping hot bacon and sausage were also available on the side, and hot chocolate, coffee, and tea were available to drink.

Samus stirred some creamer into her coffee and blew on it before taking a small sip. She glanced up from her mug to see Zelda with a tray of food standing over her.

"Good morning, Princess," Samus addressed her. "How are you?"

"I need your help with something."

"Like what?" the bounty huntress asked. Zelda began to unravel her story. She didn't go into much detail on the quarrels between Roy and Fox (because everyone knew why they were fighting), but she did tell Samus about Marth's suggestion to pick just one of them and get it over with.

"The only question is..." Zelda pondered. "... which one is right for me?"

"I admire your bravery to stand up and pick one... but as you stated before, choosing will be the hard part," Samus said, "On the one side, Roy is... how do I put this... he- 'resembles' you more, so it wouldn't look so odd. On the other hand, you've known Fox longer, so you know him a bit better."

"Two sides of a coin..." Zelda sighed. Then her face lit up. "So, I just have to take a chance and flip it! I just have to determine what I'm looking for in a lover-"

Samus blushed. "It would sound a bit better to call him your 'boyfriend', Zelda. 'Lover' has taken on a different connotation in the present."

"Oh goodness, I hadn't considered that. Thank you. I have to decide what I'm looking for in a boyfriend, and figure out some way to compare the traits of those two in those categories, and see which one I think fits better."

"Exactly. I think you should just go on a surprise date with them both. You know, go out to dinner and find something fun to do together. One on one night, one on the other. Figure out what you want, and then... decide." Samus commented.

"That sounds like a good idea," Zelda agreed. "Oh, but... what if something goes wrong? I'll need someone to keep an eye on things."

"I could keep watch for you," Samus suggested, taking a few sips of coffee.

"Would you really?" Zelda asked, beaming. "Then there's the question of just having one person watch. Roy or Fox would get suspicious. Maybe you should get a partner to look like you're on a date as well. What if-"

"No way." Samus interrupted. "I know that we're friends now, but there is NO way I'm going on a date with Captain Falcon!"

"But Samus, he's the only one that would look convincing! It would look so weird if you just showed up with Luigi, or Ness, or Crazy... besides, the Captain is understanding. He'll understand that it isn't a serious date, it's just to help a friend."

Samus mused this over for a moment. "I guess you have a point. I'll speak with him about it later. But you have to pick a different couple for your other date!"

Zelda didn't need to think much about the second one. "Mario and Peach?"

"Yes, that would be a great idea." Samus nodded in approval. She drank some more coffee and set it back down.

"And just on a hypothetical note..." Zelda added. "I know you've said you're a bounty huntress and you won't ever fall in love, but... if you weren't a bounty huntress... and you were in my place... who would you choose?"

Samus took a deep sip of coffee as though it would help her think. "... Like I mentioned before, I think I would have chosen Roy because it wouldn't look as odd to be going out with him."

"That's what Peach told me last week. Thanks for your input, Samus."

**--**

The first match of the day was between Marth and the princess of Hyrule.

"May this be an excellent fight!" Zelda complimented, extending her hand to shake with Marth.

"No, I can already tell it_ will_ be an excellent fight." Marth replied with a chuckle. Zelda smiled.

They both appeared on the road in Mute City as rock music filled the air. Marth started the match by dashing forward and swiping his blade at Zelda to deliver the first attack in the game. Zelda quickly retaliated by dropping her foot below her to kick Marth in the neck.

"Good hit!" Roy shouted.

"Way to go, princess!" Fox cheered. He glared at Roy from across the room, and was met with the same icy stare. They kept their eyes locked on each other, ignoring what was happening in the match. It wasn't until about two minutes later that a shriek from Zelda indicated the match was over, and the sight of Marth returning his blade to his side after apparently swinging it down upon her as the platform was floating in the sky. The prince's damage was at 65; the princess's damage was at 98.

"GAME!" Master declared. "This game's winner is... MARTH!"

The prince tucked Falchion neatly into its sheath before turning to smile at his audience.

"Konkai wa boku no kecha da, ne?"

Marth and Zelda emerged from the elevator, both apparently pleased with their performances in the match, although Zelda could be seen clutching her hand tenderly.

"No, I'll be all right, really." she told the prince. Roy had overheard this and ran to Zelda's side.

"He hurt your hand?" he glared at Marth. "How dare you!"

"What?" Marth gasped in surprise. "No, she- ACK!"

Roy had gripped onto his tunic and tugged the prince towards him. "That's the only reason why you won, isn't it! You hurt her hand so she couldn't use her magic against you!"

"Roy!" Zelda gasped.

"Let go of him!" Captain Falcon shouted.

"Oh, _yes_. That's _exactly_ what happened." Marth replied, rolling his eyes.

Roy narrowed his eyes and slapped Marth across the face, knocking him on the ground. Link stiffened, clenching his fists.

The prince's eyes were watering from the sting. "Hey! I was only being sarcastic!"

Roy jumped on him, causing everyone to gasp. Marth crossed his arms across his face to avoid taking a hit there, but Roy punched him in the stomach. Marth cried out, sending Link running over. Before the fiery swordsman could hit him again, Link had thrown Roy off of him.

"Don't touch him!" Link yelled, stepping between the redheaded swordsman and the prince, spreading his arms as if to give Marth extra protection.

"You care more about him than your own princess?!" Roy asked. "After he hurt her?"

"ROY!!" Zelda shouted, finally getting his attention. Everyone was staring at the normally quiet princess. "I got my hand caught in the elevator door! That's why I was holding it! Marth would never hurt anyone!"

Roy's face fell after realization. He had just been fighting someone outside of regulations. Plus, he had actually hurt an innocent person, which made it even worse. He was going to get in serious trouble for this.

He turned to the other two swordsmen.

"Marth... I'm really sorry... I overreacted and I just..."

Marth shook his head, refusing to look at the red-head swordsman. "Just wait to hear the whole story next time, okay?"

"... Okay." Roy replied. The Hylian, however, glared icily at him.

A thought suddenly struck Captain Falcon.

"Wait! Why didn't Master and Crazy try to stop the fight?" he asked.

Everyone glanced around the room, but they weren't there.

Captain Falcon crossed his arms. _There's something really odd about those two..._

Link sat near Marth, placing two comforting hands on his shoulders.

"Are you okay? Can you stand up?"

Marth bent over to stand up, then winced, leaning back.

"My stomach feels fine, except when I bend over."

"All right," Link commented, taking a seat next to him. "I'll wait with you until you feel better."

"But that would be so... weird!" Marth replied, hands clasped over his stomach. "You don't have to, Link..."

The Hylian shrugged it off, making Marth smile slightly.

"Then I'll get the doctor for you," Captain Falcon stated, walking out into the cold.

"Thank you!" Marth called after him.

Everyone else left the room after a while.

"You'd think at least some of them would be polite enough to show some concern," Marth shook his head in distaste, although he was clearly joking. He glanced over at Link with a small smile on his face, but it disappeared when he noticed the Hylian had his arms folded over his chest, a small frown across his face as he stared at the ground in thought.

"Link?" Marth asked, gently shaking his shoulder. "Link, what's-"

At that moment, Doctor Mario and Captain Falcon entered the room.

"So, someone took a nasty-a punch to the-a stomach, I heard?" asked the Mario duplicate, kneeling in front of Marth. "Here, lift-a your tunic for-a me so I can-a take a look..."

Captain Falcon faced the other way to give the doctor and his patient some privacy, although his thoughts were focused on the prince.

_Why is it that whenever something goes wrong for Marth during or after a fight, it's somehow linked to Master and Crazy?_

Link had also shifted himself to face away from Marth and the doctor. However, his thoughts were also on the prince, but on a completely different subject.

Had he really grown so attached to Marth that he cared more about him than even Zelda?

**--**

At the Fountain of Dreams, Mario defeated Roy after a heated battle- literally, as fireballs and flaming swords were the weapons of choice; in fact, Roy's fate had been sealed when Mario tossed a Poke'ball containing an Entei that engulfed Roy in a column of fire.

Roy stepped out of the elevator, avoiding eye contact with Marth, Zelda, Link, Fox, or Captain Falcon. Zelda had mixed feelings about this; sure, she still felt mad at him after attacking Marth... but she also felt sad to see the normally spunky swordsman to become so withdrawn.

As for the match at Big Blue, Fox came out victorious after knocking Yoshi onto the road in between the White Cat and Hyper Speeder. Although the camera followed the racers and fighters at a fast speed, Yoshi (on the road) had gone off screen so fast he was considered out of the arena, giving Fox the win.

Lunch finally rolled around, with corn dogs given out. It was nice to have a change from the leftovers. Zelda, however, stared at her meal awkwardly.

"It's-a all right, sweetheart-a," Mario reassured, a small chuckle escaping his mouth. "It's-a not made from a real-a dog."

"Then what's in it?" Zelda asked.

"Beef-a, maybe a little-a bit of pork or-a chicken... all-a wrapped in corn-a bread."

Peach walked over and sat down next to Mario.

_I guess I could ask them now..._ Zelda thought to herself.

"Excuse me, I wanted to ask you two something..." Zelda started.

Mario and Peach glanced at each other.

"Sure, what's up?" Peach asked.

"Well, you know how Roy and Fox are always fighting over me... Samus has suggested I try going on a date with each of them, one on one night, the other the next. However, I'd feel better if somebody was there watching to make sure nothing's been sabotaged. Samus suggested that I get one person to watch, but I decided it wouldn't look as suspicious if there was a second couple 'dating'. Samus already convinced Captain Falcon to go as her 'date' (she made quotation marks with her fingers), but now I need a second couple for the other night. So, I was wondering... would you be interested?"

Mario and Peach exchanged a hesitated look. Mario rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, and Peach sighed.

"The truth is... we prefer dating when we can focus on each other, not spying on another couple."

"We also-a prefer our dates-a to be private."

"Yes." Peach sighed. "I'm sorry, Zelda, maybe there's someone else who could do it for you..."

"Do what?" Link asked, sitting by the Princess of Hyrule.

"She needs a couple to pretend they're on a date, so they can actually watch what happens while Zelda's on hers." Peach explained.

Zelda related the entire story again, while Mario and Peach started eating (I think everyone's tired of hearing this story).

"All right. I see." Link nodded. "I'll go."

"You will?" Zelda asked excitedly, clasping her hands together. Her eyes were sparkling. "You need to invite someone, of course..."

"I know who'd look perfectly convincing with me... but I don't want to ask now. Lunch is always sort of busy for them..."

Zelda nodded. "Don't worry, I understand. Meet with me tonight when you-know-who-" she paused to wink at Link. "accepts. And bring them with you!"

At that moment, Master stepped onto the karaoke stage. "Surprised? Yes, I realize I don't typically make lunch announcements... but I was thinking... when you get a 'day off' around here without fighting... does anyone really enjoy it?"

"No..." Link replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I've been thinking about ending these 'day off' things as long as we have an even number of fighters. If there's an odd man- or woman, or Poke'mon, or whatever- we will have to make someone sit out. But other than that, if we're even, we're fighting! I think it's boring to just sit around all day, so I thought I'd ask if Ness, Jiggly, Samus, and DK would like to fight today."

"Sure."

"Yeah!"

"Jigglypuff..." (I guess so...)

"... Okay." Ness's reply came at last.

Master nodded. "Very well, the matches will now be set 30 minutes apart; so the previous "final match" between Falcon and Pikachu will now be held at 3:30 instead; Samus will fight... Ne- no, she's fought him before... Jigglypuff at 4:00 at Jungle Japes; Ness, you'll be fighting Donkey Kong at 4:30, and your arena will be Icicle Mountain."

**--**

And so, the matches came and went, as Zelda anticipated the evening to speak with her partners as well as the rivals seeking her affection.

First came the match between Dr. Mario and Falco. Both the pilot and the doctor put up a good fight, but in the end, Falco came out on top, earning his first victory.

At Termina, Link had gradually built up Kirby's damage with his boomerang and barrages of rapid sword strikes flying in every direction, before finally knocking him skyward with three slashes above his head.

Peach, however, proved to be too much for Mario's younger brother, and he was defeated by the princess. Marth, Link, and Captain Falcon still congratulated him for putting up an excellent fight in his first match.

Everyone was rooting for the Ice Climbers as they fought against Bowser. Well, everyone except two certain swordsmen. Marth had gone to the medical ward to get his bruises examined by Doctor Mario. Link had secretly followed him there.

"Thank you, Doctor." Marth commented as he stepped out the door, literally walking right into Link.

"Oh, goodness!" the prince gasped. "I didn't see you!"

"It's okay, did you hurt your stomach?"

"I'm fine, Link, but thank you."

Silence passed between them.

"Did... you want to see me for something?" Marth asked in uncertainty, tilting his head slightly.

"Um, no... I mean, YES! Yes, I did want to see you!" Link blurted out. Marth inhaled sharply in surprise.

"Okay... what did you want to see me about?"

"Well... it's like this..." Once again, he explained the whole ordeal. "... so her idea is to get two dates to go with her when she goes out with Fox and Roy. One on one night, one on the other. She's already got Falcon and Samus going on one night..." Link's voice trailed off as his face became bright red. "But she doesn't have another pair on the other night. So... I was... wondering..."

Marth nodded, apprehensively.

"... if you'd like... to go with... me."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry, I should've just asked Malon or-"

"I said it's okay."

"... You'll go out with me?"

Marth smiled and nodded. Link affectionally patted him on the shoulders. "Great! All right, I'll need you to meet with us in the corner opposite the karaoke bar at seven, can you be there?"

"Yes, of course."

"Okay, I'll see you there. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

A brief pause of silence passed.

"Shall we head back to watch the matches?"

"Yes, let's."

**--**

Link and Marth returned to find Bowser gloating about his victory over the Ice Climbers.

Thirty minutes passed, then the match between Captain Falcon and Pikachu arrived. Pikachu came out successful after hitting Captain Falcon with several Thunder attacks and then a backflip-kick, despite taking a Falcon Punch, a Falcon Kick, and several punches.

As for the two bonus matches, Samus came out victorious. After all, a Charge Shot beats a lullaby anyday. Much to Ness's dismay, he was defeated by Donkey Kong after being thrown off the top of the mountain, high enough to go off-camera and therefore out-of-bounds.

Ness frowned throughout dinner that night, with Popo, Nana, and Peach sitting with him for comfort.

"Don't worry... I know you'll win soon!" Nana reassured, patting his shoulder. Master, meanwhile, brought up the matches for Tuesday.

**_Mushroom Kingdom: 10:00 a.m._**

_Donkey Kong vs. Link_

**_Termina: 10:45 a.m._**

_Luigi vs. Bowser_

**_Green Greens: 11:30 a.m._**

_Roy vs. Jigglypuff_

**_Onett: 1:30 p.m._**

_Samus vs. Yoshi_

**_Rainbow Cruise: 2:00 p.m._**

_Marth vs. Peach_

**_Kongo Jungle: 2:30 p.m._**

_Captain Falcon vs. Ice Climbers_

**_Poke'mon Stadium: 3:00 p.m._**

_Zelda vs. Falco_

**_Hyrule Temple: 3:30 p.m._**

_Mario vs. Fox_

**_Venom: 4:00 p.m._**

_Kirby vs. Dr. Mario_

**_Yoshi's Story: 4:30 p.m._**

_Pikachu vs. Ness_

"My goodness, you know what I just realized?" Crazy asked his brother.

"What?"

"You've been forgetting to show the records."

"Whoa, you're right! Here, let's do that now!"

**Donkey Kong: 8-0**

**Falco: 1-0**

**Link: 4-1**

**Marth: 4-1 **(the two swordsmen exchanged a high-five)

**Roy: 2-1**

**Bowser: 5-3**

**Peach: 5-3**

**Pikachu: 3-2**

**Mario: 3-2**

**Captain Falcon: 4-3**

**Samus: 4-3**

**Zelda: 4-4**

**Dr. Mario: 1-1**

**Fox: 2-3**

**Jigglypuff: 2-3**

**Ice Climbers: 2-5**

**Yoshi: 2-5**

**Kirby: 1-4**

**Luigi: 0-1**

**Ness: 0-5**

Ness groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"It's okay, Popo and I aren't doing so hot either," Nana told him.

"Well, you guys have WON matches at least. I haven't beaten anybody yet!"

The cafeteria cleared out, leaving Zelda, Marth, Link, Captain Falcon, and Samus in the room. Captain Falcon brought everyone a mug of hot chocolate as their meeting came to order.

"Okay, I plan to meet with Fox and Roy after this," Zelda explained. "I need one couple for my date with Fox, and the other for my date with Roy. I flipped a coin, so Roy will go first." She paused to take a sip of hot chocolate. "Wow, this stuff is amazing. Link, where's your date?"

The Hero of Time grinned and gestured at the prince sitting beside him. "I chose Marth." The prince waved his hand merrily.

Zelda coughed slightly, both from the heat of the beverage and in response to Link's surprising answer. Even Captain Falcon and Samus exchanged an awkward glance.

"I thought you were going to bring Malon!"

"Nah, I thought Marth would be a better pick because we've bonded so well over the past few weeks!"

"Link..." Captain Falcon sighed. "I really don't want to tell you this, but a date is usually intended for a man and a woman."

"It's true," Zelda admitted.

Marth and Link exchanged a sad glance.

"But Marth..." Link started, then shook his head. "Come on, Zelda..."

Much to his surprise, Samus spoke up in defense for him. "You know, Zelda, you said this date isn't technically a serious thing; it just has to look convincing. Link has a point, the only person that would look convincing alongside him would be Marth, much like... Falcon and myself. You even said so."

Zelda was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly in agreement.

"Thank you," Link said to the women, although his gaze indicated it was mainly for the bounty huntress. She smiled and winked at him across the table, lifting her drink to her lips.

"So now we decide who gets what night..."

"How about Link and I watch Roy for you?" Marth volunteered. "I don't know, I think it'd be more appropriate because we're also swordsmen...?"

Falcon turned to Samus. "We can handle watching Fox's night, right?"

"Mm-hmm. I'm fine with that."

Zelda smiled. "Great! Now, I must remind you that you're acting like you're also on a date. Dress nicely, and act like you're having a good time with each other."

"We don't need to act," Marth commented to Link. The Hylian grinned in reply.

"Of course, don't get so wrapped up in each other that you don't pay attention to the actual date. Be sure to keep a pretty good watch on my date and I." Zelda cautioned them.

Everyone nodded.

"Other than that, I've got nothing else to say," Zelda finished. She raised her mug. "Here's to ending the fight."

The others raised their cups of cocoa and clinked them together with Zelda.

"Amen to that!"

"Oh yeah!"

"I hear ya!"

"Cheers!"

Everyone downed their cocoa, then flinched as their throats stung from the after-burn.

"Okay then," Zelda rasped, clutching a hand to her neck. "I'm going to find Fox and Roy. I'll need to find two random fighters that can hold them back, though. Anyone willing to help me look?"

"Of course, Princess," Captain Falcon confirmed with a nod. "Any reason why?"

Her face fell slightly and her tone grew a bit more serious. "First, because having two of you show up there and then on the date might be suspicious. Second, because I have to have a meeting with both Roy and Fox, and it'd probably make more sense if I speak with them at the same time."

**--**

Luigi and Donkey Kong ended up as the 'lucky' candidates, and they sat in the middle two chairs in a row of four; Fox sat on the far left chair and Roy in the far right seat.

Zelda stepped in front of them calmly, trying to remember restraint in front of the two boys who annoyed her outright yet still had affection for.

"Gentlemen," the princess addressed them._ Although I use that term lightly..._

Roy grinned, directing his attention to the princess. Fox also smiled to see her.

"As you know, I've mentioned several times I'm sick of you two fighting... and that I'm not going to choose either of you..."

"Yeah, cause he's a freaking dog!"

"I'm a FOX! And at least I'm not rude and overbearing!"

"Stop it, please." Zelda stated. "Anyway, I've decided to change my mind."

Fox and Roy suddenly gave her their full attention.

"This was really the last way I wanted to do this... but I've decided to go on a date with both of you."

"Not at the same time, right?" Fox asked, glancing at Roy.

"Right," Zelda replied. "I'll go on separate dates with both of you, and then I'll decide. Like I said before, I didn't want it to come to this... but if it'll make you stop fighting, I guess I have to choose fairly. I just want to set some rules, first."

She pulled over an easel leaning against the corner. She then lifted a piece of posterboard that had also been sitting in the corner onto the easel. Seven rules were written out in English. Although she had been raised to write in Hylian scripts since she was a little girl, the similar forms of the characters in English made it easier for her to write and read; there were no flipped letters or numbers, nor were there mistakes in spelling or grammar.

Zelda read off the rules, pointing to each one as she went.

"Number one: I will go on a date with each of you on one night only; one on one night, the other on the next. Number two: I'd like the date to include dinner and some form of activity."

Roy raised his hand. "What do you want for dinner?"

"That's for you to decide, just like the activities." She smiled briefly. "Surprise me. That leads me to number three: just be yourself. I don't want anyone going Cassanova on me."

Zelda took on a more serious attitude, focusing her attention at Fox, then at Roy. "Rule four, and take good note of it: any attempt to sabotage the other's date will result in_ immediate disqualification_."

The two males gulped.

"Number five: I will announce the results the day after the second date. Number six: If the one I choose gloats about getting chosen at any time, especially to the... 'not-chosen'... (she had hesitated to find a good word for it) then I will date them instead. And number seven: don't be a sore loser." the princess took a deep breath after laying down the law. Luigi and Donkey Kong softly applauded her.

"Questions?" she asked.

Roy and Fox shook their heads.

"Very well; the only fair way I could think of to choose who goes first was with a coin flip. So, I'll see Roy tomorrow, and Fox after that."

**--**

The next day, omelets were given out for breakfast, as well as the standard hot beverages. Several people had spicy toppings, such as jalapenos, added to their omelets. Bundled up once more, everyone trekked outside for the perilous one-minute hike to the battle building.

For the first match, Donkey Kong's undefeated streak continued after getting Link with a Bomb-Omb and tossing him out of bounds.

After that, Bowser defeated Mario's younger brother, although he hadn't technically defeated him on his own; Luigi had fallen onto the turtle as it was sinking in Termina and the water pressure kept him from successfully returning to land.

Roy promised Zelda a win as an "early date present". She smiled (although a bit awkwardly) and wished him luck. He defeated Jigglypuff with a fully-charged, one-hit KO strike from his Flare Blade.

Warm, hearty chowders were distributed for lunch, many opting for the famous clam chowder. Others with unique tastes or just wanting to try something new sampled the corn chowder and also found it appetizing.

Yoshi came out victorious over Samus by using an egg-cellent strategy. He waited for the whistle that alerted when cars were coming, then trapped Samus in an egg on the road. She was slammed three times, by a taxi, a black van, and then by a common pink car. He finished her off by using a powerful headbutt to knock her over the roof of the house on the right side of the arena.

Peach defeated the prince after he was a little too late to keep up with the oddly travelling camera, therefore making him out of bounds. If it had been a question of damage percentage, Marth would have won by a landslide, having only taken 55 damage when he was ruled out, whereas Peach was at 115.

The Ice Climbers defeated Captain Falcon after knocking him against a Klap Trap coming over the falls. He had gone slightly easy on them at first, then progressed his offense to keep them interested in the fight; he also wanted to help them boost their record.

Falco defeated Hyrule's princess thanks to some help from a Lugia he had summoned. The mighty hurricane strikes it unleashed whipped Zelda's body around, raising her damage by a mountainous level of 178 before she was sent flying off in the background, screaming.

Fox defeated Mario with the use of a fully charged Super Scope, a Freezie, and an Electrode. He also threw a Mr. Saturn at the unfrozen plumber to stun him for a second to make sure he was in the explosion range and for humorous effect.

The doctor didn't need to do much to defeat Kirby; the Arwings did a lot of the work for him. He just delivered the final blow.

Ness fought as hard as he could, but a powerful shock from Pikachu knocked him off the arena. He made a good effort to return, but he misfired PK Thunder at an odd angle, sending him in a more vertical direction when he needed horizontal distance.

Ness groaned as he exitted the elevator. The prince walked over to him and knelt to the boy's level.

"Don't give up," Marth calmly reminded him. "You'll win someday."

"Someday?!" Ness snapped. "I want to win A-S-A-P!"

"I don't know what that means, but I'm sure you might win soon too."

Soon... HIS DATE WAS SOON!! HIS DATE WAS IN THREE HOURS!!

"Oh my gosh!" Marth gasped, standing up. "I have to get ready!"

"Ready for what?" Ness asked. Too late. The prince had run off, out of hearing range.

**--**

Dinner came at six for the other fighters and matches were announced; however, only four people were absent from the tables.

Seven o'clock finally ticked on over, with the cafeteria cleared out. Meanwhile, a certain Hylian found himself knocking at the door of a certain prince. At last, the door opened... and both swordsmen took in each other's appearance, breathless.

Marth had dressed in a pale blue tunic, with a goldenrod lining that ran down the front of it, trimmed the sleeves, and created the neck line for the tunic. His hair was the same beautiful shade of blue, only it had an extra shine to it now. Link could faintly detect the aroma of blueberries, likely a new shampoo Marth had used prior to the date. The prince had on dark blue pants and blue boots with a golden buckle; they were clearly for dressy occasions rather than fighting. The sheath he normally kept on his navy blue belt was gone; he also had removed the dark blue gloves he normally used for fighting. Link was surprised at how slender and feminine Marth's hands appeared without a warrior's gloves on. Marth wore no cape; however, his cherished tiara of gold remained in his soft hair, the red gemstone appearing quite polished.

Link had sought out some advice to dress nicely for this occasion; he wore a dressier shirt of green with a black tie draped around his neck and neatly knotted slightly below his collar line. He had worn black pants and a black belt, with black shoes borrowed from Captain Falcon. There was no hat tonight! He had combed his blonde hair back neatly, except for the parted blonde bangs that rested above his eyebrows, and pulled it into a short ponytail that slightly tickled the back of his neck. Like Marth, he had also abandoned his gloves and weapons. His aroma mixed nicely with Marth's; the prince smelled like blueberries, the Hylian smelled like cinnamon.

"Hi, Link,"

"Hi, Marth..."

They remained silent for a moment.

"You look nice," Marth said, smiling. He spread his arms out a little bit. "How do I look?"

There was only one word in Link's mind, and that was beautiful. It was really the only way to describe Marth's feminine good looks... but saying that to a fellow male? It just wouldn't sound right. "Uh... you look... really good!"

"Thanks," Marth replied, though he had noted Link's stumble in words. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah,"

"Me too. I could really go for some dinner,"

"Shall we?" Link asked, offering his arm to escort the prince. Marth smiled and linked arms with the Hero.

"Yes," he replied.

They walked down the flights of stairs to the cafeteria. They had perfect timing; Roy and Zelda had come walking over at the same time, and the swordsmen quickly unlinked arms just in case the other pair got the 'wrong idea'.

"Hey, you guys are going out too?" Roy asked. He was clad in a yellow tunic with intricate goldenrod patterns along the front. He wore sand colored pants and had white boots on. No cape, no gloves, no sheath, but he still wore a yellow headband on his forehead and his cherry-colored hair was still as wild as a fire.

"Link, Marth! What a pleasant surprise!" Zelda exclaimed. She was dressed in a silky white sleeveless dress with small pearls decorating an intricate white pattern along her torso. She wore white high-heels and had white silk gloves that reached up to her elbows. Her neckline did dip a little low, but it wasn't anything TOO revealing.

"We both missed dinner, and we ran into each other in the hall... so we decided to order something special tonight." Link explained. Marth nodded in agreement.

Both couples stepped into the cafeteria and sat at two different tables. Malon had noticed that Link and Zelda were absent from dinner, and when she spotted the Hylians walking in, each with a swordsmen, she couldn't help but play along.

"Good evening!" Malon greeted them. "Anything I can get for you tonight?"

Zelda glanced over at Roy, her eyes reminding him that he had to order for both of them.

"Could you fix us a Greek salad, perhaps? Big enough for two, please. And don't forget the potato salad!" he ordered with a grin.

Malon nodded and walked off to Marth and Link's table.

"I know that you prefer fruits and vegetables, so... you're welcome." Roy said to the princess with a grin.

Malon smiled pleasantly, stopping at the table of the two swordsmen. "So, what do you guys want tonight?"

"I'll take spaghetti, please," Marth said to Malon.

"And I'm going to have pepperoni pizza," Link added with a grin. "And we'd also like to split a smaller Greek salad."

Malon walked off to give the orders to Ruby, who began to warm up the oven and pull out bowls and plates for cooking.

"So, Princess..." Roy said to Zelda, "We might have to wait a little bit for dinner... would you care for a dance while we wait?"

"All right..." Zelda replied shyly. He gently took her hand in his and led her into the middle of the floor. Roy nodded over at Spike, who turned on some music.

Zelda recognized the tune; it was a familiar Hyrulian lullaby. However, its rhythm had been changed to match the pattern of a waltz and was being played in piano. He led her smoothly across the cleared floor, Marth and Link content to sit and watch. The Hylian male hummed along softly with the melody. Occasionally, Marth or Link's eyes would fall upon the other, then quickly glance away before the other could look back.

"There's still a little time left in the song," Link commented softly. "Marth, would you like to-"

"Food's done!" Malon commented cheerfully. She placed the plates in front of the swordsmen, as well as a basket of breadsticks and their salad. "Diddy actually baked these, with some help from Ruby, so tell us what you think later, okay? Just please don't fence with them; I don't want to be the one sweeping up crumbs."

"No problem!" Marth replied. He then turned to Link. "Sorry about that... you were saying?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to try some pizza before I actually eat it."

"Okay..." Marth replied.

Link lifted the pizza and gently handed it across the table to Marth. He felt Marth's fingers gently brush against his as the prince took the food from him. Marth took a delicate bite from the tip of the pizza, then returned it to Link.

"Mmm... you made a good choice!" Marth commented to Link after swallowing. "Would you like some spaghetti?"

Link nodded. Marth gently twirled some noodles around the prongs of his fork, then held it up across the table. Link leaned forward to take a bite.

"Hmm! It's good!" Link commented.

"Here, I'll get you some salad too," Marth commented, taking Link's plate and placing the Greek salad onto it using the tongs, and even scooping some extra potato salad on as well.

Meanwhile, Roy and Zelda were content to eat their meal in silence.

_Why won't he say anything?_ Zelda wondered. That changed suddenly.

"Hey, do you want me to teach you how to sword-fight?"

Zelda blinked in surprise. "All right."

Roy grabbed a bread stick and handed it to her, then took one into his hand.

"Okay, swing your arm forward, like this." He gestured appropriately, then nodded to Zelda, who repeated his moves.

"Good! Now, use that move to swing my sword- uh, breadstick- away as a counterattack!" Roy swung his breadstick down and Zelda swung hers in an upward arch, snapping them both in half and causing Zelda to fall into a fit of giggles.

"Heeey!" Malon whined. "I said no fencing!"

"Sorry!" Roy called to her. "Um, what else can we do... hey! Let's turn on a movie!!"

He pointed to Alice with great zest. "Girl-whose-name-I-can't-recall!"

Alice gave him a small frown. "My name is Alice,"

"Elice! Let me see the movie selection!"

"Alice!" she repeated, glaring at Roy. Spike grinned.

_She's cute when she's mad..._

Roy stepped over to the movie collection and browsed through them, finally finding what he judged to be a 'good movie'.

_Perfect!_ Roy thought to himself with glee, holding a copy of a horror movie. _She'll be frightened, and I'll be there to hold her hand when she gets scared. She'll see that I can comfort her when she's upset! _

"Pop it in, m'lady!" Roy said to Alice, shoving the movie into her hands. She frowned with a sigh, but opened the case and placed the disc into the player.

A projector screen rolled down the back wall of the karaoke bar, where Master made his announcements. Link, remembering his 'future lessons', scanned the ceiling until he spotted the projector itself, a small box with colorful glowing lights coming from the lens.

And so, the movie started. A few minutes in, the music began to turn ominous.

_I don't like this..._ Zelda thought to herself. Suddenly, a horrific image flashed on screen and she squeaked in surprise, clasping a hand to her heart, the other over Roy's.

_Haha, jackpot! _Roy grinned, although his heart was still racing from the first horror scene.

Link gasped and jumped, but was hauled down by Marth, who shrieked and clutched onto Link's arm.

For another hour and a half, there was more squeaking and gasping throughout the movie, including one particularly gruesome scene that had everyone in the room screaming, with Zelda's arms latched around Roy's neck and Marth's hand clamped over Link's. Malon and Ruby ran from the kitchen's back room into the main cafeteria to see what was making all the commotion, but when they realized it was only a movie, they returned to work.

Of course, once the movie was over, everyone was laughing about it... but there was still a slight sense of uneasiness in the air that comes from all frightening horror movies (In other words, the ones that are actually good).

"Did you see how she fell off the building? I mean, she just went KER-SPLAT!!" Roy laughed. "Like a bag full of soup dropped off a castle!"

Zelda cringed at the gross analogy, but she was forced to laugh. When they finally were content, the sound of a soft yawn escaping Marth caught Zelda's ear, and she glanced up at the clock. It had gotten fairly late.

"I don't know about you," Link commented, "but I'm pretty tired. We've got matches tomorrow, and I'm just-" he paused to yawn, stretching an arm over his head, using his other hand to cover his mouth. "-pardon me, but I'm just flat-out tired."

Marth nodded sleepily in agreement.

"Shall I escort you to your room?" Roy offered to the princess. She nodded in reply. Marth and Link followed them as well.

Link and Marth followed them up to the third floor, before parting ways with the princess and the general.

"Good night, Link. Good night, Marth. Sweet dreams," Zelda said.

"Sleep tight," Roy added.

"Good night," Link and Marth replied, watching them walk up the stairs to the fourth floor.

"Well, I had fun tonight." Link commented, turning to the prince.

"Me too," Marth replied, smiling cheerfully. "although I can't say I agree with Roy's choice in movies."

Link grinned briefly. "Other than that, I think he treated Zelda pretty well. He sure knows what she likes, and did everything to appeal to her interests."

"Maybe," Marth replied, "but I would have expected him to maybe try to get her into something new."

"Well, he did try to teach her how to fence with bread sticks," Link laughed. Marth chuckled softly as well.

They quieted down quickly, remembering that Luigi and Captain Falcon were trying to sleep.

"Do you think you might like to... do this again?" Marth asked softly.

"Hmm?"

"Have a 'date', I mean..." Marth clarified, his cheeks starting to flush with color. "have a special dinner, see a movie- hopefully a more enjoyable one, maybe take a walk by the beach again... but just the two of us. Alone. Together."

Link stared down at the floor awkwardly, still remembering how he had questioned his feelings toward his friend- his _friend_, Marth was nothing more than a friend to him- earlier that day.

"... We'll see..." he mumbled, glancing back up at the prince's soft cerulean eyes. Marth smiled softly.

"Good night, Marth."

"Sweet dreams, Link."

They stood there, gazing into each other's eyes for a moment, their breathing fading softly until they were standing there in pure silence. They were both expecting the other to make a move or show some sort of sign. Link finally made the first move.

He gently patted the prince on the shoulder, then turned around to walk to his room. Marth watched his back in the dark until his Hylian friend was no longer visible, then slowly turned to open his door and step inside.

Meanwhile, Zelda and Roy bid each other good night. Roy even paused to gently kiss Zelda's hand, his lips gently pressed on the tip of Power on the Triforce insignia on the back of her hand. He pulled away and bowed to her, turning to enter his room. She blushed, although perhaps a bit awkwardly, but she smiled and thanked him and entered her room.

Although she felt a bit guilty... she had a slight feeling her mind was made up on who to choose...

_No,_ she reminded herself. _We'll wait and see what tomorrow brings._

**_--_**

The next morning, temperatures continued to drop, and the snow level continued to grow. A five-minute snowball fight ensued on the walk to the tower for fighting when Popo and Nana flung snowballs at the back of Luigi's head. He turned around annoyed and threw a snowball back at them...

... smacking Bowser right in the face. Mario grabbed some snow to defend his brother, and Link and Marth gathered some arctic ammo as Bowser catapulted a snowball the size of a bowling ball back at the younger of the Mario brothers. Fox and Roy were there to defend Zelda from incoming snowballs, but when she pegged them from behind with two snowballs of her own, they started to fling some snow playfully at her. Ness, Samus, and Jigglypuff teamed up against Captain Falcon, Kirby, and Peach in a battle of their own. Master and Crazy sniped their snowballs at Marth- Captain Falcon caught notice of this, and got hit in the cheek by an icy shot from Samus. She laughed as her fellow bounty hunter returned fire with a humorous shout of, "Falcon Snowball!"

Master and Crazy eventually got everyone under control again, and they marched off to the battles ahead, cheeks stinging from the cold particles of frost that still clung to their faces, and noses bright red from the chilly breeze.

They entered the battle room, rubbing their hands together to warm up as Master turned on the heat.

"Now, to start things out, I'd like to see Donkey Kong and the Ice Climbers; your first match will be at Princess Peach's Castle!"

The gigantic monkey and the two parka-clad fighters stepped into the elevator. Unlike their previous match, the Ice Climbers came out victorious against Donkey Kong. However, he still came out carrying one of them on each arm like before.

Dr. Mario defeated Samus in her homefield of Brinstar after she had accumulated too much damage from being slammed into the yellow lava-like acid.

Zelda defeated Jigglypuff in Mute City by managing to break her shield with a lightning-kick. The second her shield had shattered, the force of it sent her flying off as a star.

Warm sandwiches- from paninis to grilled cheese- and soups- from chicken noodle to tomato- were passed out for lunch. The familiar four- Marth, Link, Captain Falcon, and Samus- had chosen to sit together. Marth dipped the corner of his grilled cheese sandwich neatly into his tomato soup, then took a bite.

"... you should have heard Marth and Zelda scream!" Link laughed. Samus grinned in reply.

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun," Captain Falcon commented, setting his spoon back into his tomato soup. He turned to Samus. "I hope our date can be that much fun."

"Remember, it's not_ our_ date; it's Fox and Zelda's date." Samus reminded him, her voice suddenly void of happiness.

"Yeah, but I still want to do something!" Captain Falcon scoffed.

"You're acting like a teenager," she scolded. "You can sit still for an hour!"

"No I can't," Captain Falcon replied. "I'm a racer!"

"They sound like they're married to me," Link murmured to Marth, who giggled.

** --**

Fox anxiously awaited the end of the matches that day. He watched each one- and fought in his own- with a sense of anticipation.

Marth went against Kirby, coming out victorious thanks to a Shield Breaker technique after the Arwings in Venom delivered a massive load of extra damage.

Pikachu got a rematch against the famous Hero of Time... only this time, it lost at the hands of the Master Sword at the Poke'mon Stadium.

Due to his anticipation, Fox got careless in his match against Luigi and wound up stepping on a land mine at Yoshi's Island. Luigi finally had his first victory, and Ness was now the only one who hadn't won yet again.

On that note, Roy and Ness battled next at the Mushroom Kingdom. Roy had also taken note of Ness's record and went easy on him- so easy that he didn't hit him at all with his sword, subjecting himself to all kinds of PK pummeling. It seemed that Ness would easily win- until two Bob-Ombs walked into him and the explosion caused him to fall backwards into a pit.

"Why did you go easy on me?" Ness asked Roy in the elevator.

"Because I wanted you to win," Roy replied simply.

"That's the problem!" Ness groaned. "Everyone is going easy on me because 'poor little Ness' hasn't won a single fight yet! If I win because someone lets me, it'll change the numbers, but it won't change my record."

Roy looked at him confused.

"Tell everyone to stop going easy on me. I want to _earn_ victory, not have it handed to me for free!" Ness demanded.

Captain Falcon's match came next, with him taking on Bowser. The reptilian king proved no match for the Captain's mighty knee on the Rainbow Cruise. Marth and the Ice Climbers had gotten the crowd to start cheering for the racer.

The three swordsmen were about to go over to congratulate the bounty hunter, but he ran past them with his typical speed.

"Sorry! Gotta hit the showers! I've got a date in a few hours!"

For the final match, Mario defeated his long-time pal Yoshi at Green Greens, thanks to the legendary Poke'mon Lugia coming out of the first Poke'ball the plumber threw at him.

**--**

Dinner passed normally, Marth and Link sitting together with Roy and Pikachu.

"Do you think our date went pretty well last night?" Roy asked the two swordsmen.

The Hylian and prince glanced at each awkwardly, remembering that they had actually been sent by Zelda to spy on their date.

"Oh, sure!"

"She probably enjoyed it a lot!"

"Awesome!" Roy laughed merrily.

"Pi, Ka, pikachu ka pi Chu pika chi pi chu?" (Hey, Link, does that mean you and Marth were on a date too?)

Marth blushed in reply, whereas Link glared at the electric Poke'mon.

"Don't push it."

**--**

An hour later, a knocking could be heard at Captain Falcon's door.

"Come on! It's usually the girls who take forever to get ready for a date, but I'm ready!" said the feminine voice on the other side.

"Hold your horses! I'm coming!" the racer shouted back, tying a neat knot into the bowtie around his neck. He slicked his hair down with his hand one last time, then ran to get the door.

"Took you long enough," Samus teased. She looked over his attire- black shoes, black pants, white top, red bowtie... he looked a lot like a waiter.

Captain Falcon was also admiring her dating attire- black high heels, a knee-length black skirt, and a simple pale blue blouse with blue flowers and tiny blue 'gems' decorating it. She had pulled her hair into a ponytail, as always.

"Hold on a second," Samus ordered, taking a step back and placing a hand to her chin in thought.

"What's wrong?" Captain Falcon asked. He had to shake his head briefly; his hair had fallen into his eyes.

"Exactly," Samus replied. "Brush your hair back, it doesn't look nice right now."

"But, my scar..." Captain Falcon protested.

"Everyone's seen it!" Samus countered. She leaned up on her toes and reached her hand up to brush his brown bangs back, away from his forehead.

"There," she confirmed, with a satisfied look on her face. "Much better."

Captain Falcon ran his hand back through his hair again.

"Oh, come on! You're playing with your hair more than Marth does!" she teased again. "Come on, I'm ready for dinner."

**--**

Captain Falcon and Samus sat down at their table just as Zelda arrived. She was dressed in a dark blue sleeveless dress and had dark blue shoes to match.

She could see Captain Falcon and Samus looking at her, confused, when she explained, "Fox told me after lunch to come to the cafeteria, and he would meet me there."

"Princess!" came a call behind the kitchen counter.

"Fox?" Zelda asked, confused. He was dressed in a dark green jacket and black pants, but he was wearing an apron over his clothes.

"Just give me a second!" He requested. He shuffled around behind the counter a little bit longer, then took off his apron. He came out carrying a tray with two plates on it. Both of them had pitas stuffed with strips of cooked meat, simmered onions, fresh tomatoes, and small chunks of feta cheese. He placed their plates on the table and set the tray aside, then sat down with her.

"I realize that you prefer not to eat meat," Fox commented. "But I wanted you to try this. It's called a gyro."

Zelda lifted the sandwich-like meal to her mouth and took a small bite. She finished chewing and swallowed, a huge smile forming on her face.

"Oh, Fox... it's delicious!"

"Really?" he asked, a grin spreading across his face. "I cooked it myself!"

"Did you really?" the princess asked, amazed.

"Well, I borrowed the recipe, supplies, and ingredients from Ruby... but I did everything else!"

She had finished taking another bite of gyro when suddenly music started playing, clearly for a dance. However, unlike the music Roy had chosen, this music was fast-paced, loud, jazzy, and sexy.

"You know, this sounds a lot like the music they play at the Big Blue stage in the fights..." Captain Falcon commented with a smile.

"Before you get too full," Fox stated, "I want to dance!"

He gently grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"But... I've never really danced this fast before!" Zelda gasped.

"Just dance like you always have, but do it faster!" Fox explained with a laugh.

Unfortunately, he wasn't quite as gifted with dance as she was, and a few steps in, he stepped on her foot.

"What's he doing?" Captain Falcon muttered. "He can't dance with her like that!"

He stood up suddenly, much to Samus's surprise.

"But-" she stuttered. "-you can't interfere with their date! Besides, you can't dance!"

"Oh, can't I?" the bounty hunter asked in a challenging tone.

He quickly made his way over to the couple.

"So," Malon commented, standing over Samus. "What would you like to eat tonight?"

"Beef lo mein for him, orange chicken for me." she replied.

The server grinned at the bounty huntress.

"What?" Samus asked skeptically.

"You should dance with him!" Malon squealed.

Samus frowned. "I _don't _dance," she replied. "And he can't either."

Malon smirked, glancing up. "Oh, he _can't_?"

Samus turned around, watching the vulpine pilot, racer, and princess.

"Okay, Fox, you get the idea... now watch what I do." Falcon told him, then gently took one of Zelda's hands and placed his other just above her hip.

Much to Samus's amazement, Captain Falcon gracefully began leading Zelda around the room in a quick dance step.

"Oh, Captain..." Zelda marveled, before he twirled her around briefly and caught her back into step, "I had no idea you were such a dancer!"

"Yeah, I was once featured on a dancing TV show for celebrities back in my home world. My partner was Kate Allen, and we got second place! There was a married couple, the Arrows, that got first. But _man,_ we came so close!"

Zelda laughed as he twirled her around once, twice, thrice, and caught her again. "Is that why you always say 'Show me your moves'?"

"Partly," Captain Falcon replied, "I just think it sounds challenging and cool."

He pulled her close and twirled with her one last time, before leaving her with Fox.

"Just remember, you have to lead with your left foot and remember your rhythm at all times. When you stop in a place, just tap your heel or toes against the ground- quick, quick, slow- to keep your rhythm going."

"Ouch," Malon teased. "You practically got your date stolen!"

Samus stood up, unwilling to listen to Malon's chattering anymore. She walked over to her fellow bounty hunter.

"Yes?" Captain Falcon asked.

"..." Samus stood there, looking for the words to say.

"... Do you want to dance?" he asked, offering a hand to her. "I mean, I know you can't, but..."

"Excuse me!" Samus exclaimed, pretending to take offense. "I said I _don't _dance. I never said I _couldn't_."

She placed her hand into his and he twirled her into his arms, then began leading her around the room. Fox and Zelda even stopped just to watch their choreography. Little did the four know, Marth, Link, and several other fighters had gathered by the windows in the cafeteria doors to watch them. The bounty hunters seemed to move in a mix of Latin American styles- salsa, mambo, and merengue- as well as sped-up ballroom styles- such as the waltz or foxtrot. They moved gracefully and fluidly around the room, no faults in their moves, synchronized with one another. Their flow around the room was so matched, it was hard to tell if Captain Falcon or Samus was leading in the particular interval.

As the music died out, Samus spun around on her toes, her arms held high the air for the aerodynamic purpose of spinning faster. She slowed down, and- rather than catch her footing- she let herself fall backwards. Captain Falcon caught her with one arm under her shoulders, letting her dip low enough to the ground that the tip of her ponytail rested against the tile floor. His other arm flew up in the air for visual effect.

Fox, Zelda, and the cafeteria staff were clapping loudly; outside the cafeteria, the other spectators were applauding as well.

"Wow! I'll have to ask Captain Falcon for a dance sometime!" Peach marveled.

"Samus would be a good partner as well!" Marth complimented, though he was secretly wondering if he could ever get to dance with Captain Falcon, or if Link could dance that well.

Samus opened her eyes, gazing up admirably at her partner.

"Nice moves," Captain Falcon complimented, lifting her into a standing position. "Where did you learn to dance like that?"

A startled expression flashed across her face.

"I just... went to the occasional dance at my academy..." she replied hesitantly.

"Who was your partner?" Captain Falcon asked.

She gently pushed herself away from him.

"I...I'm feeling a little dizzy after spinning like that. I want to sit down. Oh, look, here comes Malon with our dinner. I ordered for you, if you don't mind."

"... No..." Captain Falcon replied slowly, feeling confused and a little upset that his dancing partner- whom he had once held so close- had now started acting so distant to him.

He sat down with her, smiled at the delicious meal placed before him- Samus really had chosen well- and started eating. If Samus didn't want to talk, so be it.

Fox ran over to the DVD player, popped in a movie, then ran back to his seat with Zelda, where she had resumed eating.

"A movie?" she asked, pausing from eating.

"Yeah," Fox replied. "After several centuries, these movies finally made their way to the Lylat System, and this one happens to be among my favorites."

"What movies? Which one?" Zelda asked. She appeared a bit uncomfortable, remembering Roy's choice last night.

"Disney movies," Fox replied with a wink. "And this one's _Aladdin_." ** (A/N: Since I don't own Nintendo, you can tell that I don't own Disney either, right?)**

So the movie played through, the cafeteria staff watching from the counter as well as the 'dating' couples at their tables. Laughs could be heard, as well as wistful sighs of romance during one particular carpet ride.

Meals done, they watched the credits start rolling. As they listened to the lovely music that accompanied them, Fox turned to Zelda.

"I don't suppose... you'd like another dance?"

Zelda smiled and took his hand as he led her in a slow dance this time.

"Much better," Captain Falcon whispered. "He's remembered what foot to lead with."

Samus shook her head, a smile on her face.

"_Over, sideways, and under... on an awesome Arwing flight..."_ Fox murmured to the song's tune.

"Did you say something?" Zelda asked.

"Uh, no..." Fox replied quickly.

They continued dancing to the lovely melody until it ended. Fox bowed to the princess, then led her back to the table.

Dessert was being handed out now by Ruby- vanilla ice cream with warm chocolate brownies.

"Ohhh, brownies..." Captain Falcon sighed, biting into one. "My favorite dessert..."

Samus laughed as she dipped her spoon into her ice cream.

Much to everyone's surprise, dessert passed by quickly and quietly. Malon collected the plates and bid everyone goodnight.

"Fox was really nice," Malon commented softly to herself as she watched everyone leave. "But he did so much stuff that Roy did! And he's just... well... 'different-looking'..."

She placed the plates into the sink.

_I don't think he'll be able to compete._..

**--**

Fox had already wished Zelda a good night's rest and went to his room on the second floor. Zelda went up to the fourth floor to rest, cautiously making sure Roy wasn't around to pounce on her with questions. He didn't, which filled Zelda with joy; he had kept his word, just as Fox did the night before.

Samus and Captain Falcon had stopped on the third floor to bid each other goodnight.

"So, I'll see you in the morning." Captain Falcon commented with a smile.

Samus nodded. "I have to say, I'm glad I chose you to be my partner tonight. I don't think I could've had such an enjoyable evening with anyone else, Captain."

"Captain Falcon!" Marth dashed out of his room to greet the bounty hunters. "Hi, Samus."

Link stepped out of his room yawning as well. "Hey guys."

"So..." Marth asked. "How was your evening?"

"You already know the answer to that, you spied on them when they were dancing." Link replied.

"Liiiink!!" Marth groaned, glaring at him.

"The real question is, what did Roy do on his evening with Zelda?" Samus asked. "This wasn't about us; it was about Zelda, Roy, and Fox, remember?"

"I know," Link replied. "Let's see... he ordered Greek salad for her, because he knows she likes vegetables. He asked her to dance, with the music of a Hyrulian lullaby- changed to a waltz, that is. We watched a horror movie that scared us all... and he taught her how to sword-fight using breadsticks."

Marth laughed a little at the last part.

"What did Fox do?" Link asked.

"He cooked a gyro for her... and he had a fast-paced dance with her." Samus recalled, glancing over at Captain Falcon briefly. Link and Marth exchanged a smile. "Then we watched _Aladdin_, which isn't even remotely horrifying, and then he had a slow-dance with her... and then we ate dessert."

"Even if they didn't know what the other was doing, it does sound like Fox copied a lot from Roy." Captain Falcon pondered.

"And Roy knew everything that Zelda liked!" Link added. "She doesn't really like meat, and he used Hyrulian music for their dance."

"Poor Fox," Marth commented. "It sounds like Roy's going to win her heart."

He glanced up suddenly, a surge of energy in him. "But wait! What if-"

"DO YOU-A MIND?! I'M-A TRYING TO SLEEP!" Luigi shouted from his room.

Samus shook her head.

"Never mind. We'll just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow." she whispered, then ran up the stairs.

The swordsmen and bounty hunter quickly entered their rooms as well.

**--**

The next day, the matches progressed as they normally did. Some people won, and some people lost, such as Ness.

It didn't really matter to a certain Hylian princess. After courting the swordsman and pilot, she had finally decided. It was hard for her to decide, because she had a great time with both of them, and because she didn't want to hurt either of them. She almost wished she could forget everything that happened in the past few days and not have to choose. But it would merely start the fights again, and since the last one had almost gotten violent... it had to be done.

Fox and Roy stood opposite to Zelda's door after dinner that evening. They stood about a door width apart from each other, and neither of them would look at the other.

Zelda stepped out from behind her door, and both pairs of eyes fell upon her immediately. They were both looking for some sort of hint from her expression to tell them, 'It's you.' But she held no emotion on her face to avoid judging.

"Fox, I want to see you first."

"Wait a minute." he requested, then turned to face Roy.

"We've gone through some rough times in the past week or so. And I just thought I'd let you know that... I'm sorry. We're civilized beings, not anim... not uncivilized. You're a great fighter, Roy, and you've got many great traits about you."

"The same thing could be said about you," Roy added quietly.

"So no matter who she picks... let's put everything behind us. Maybe we could even be friends." Fox extended his hand.

Roy didn't say anything, but he took the pilot's hand in agreement.

Fox released his hold, then went into the room to speak with Zelda. About five minutes later, he came out again, his face void of emotions. He walked down the hallway, not looking at Roy once.

"Fox?" Roy asked. "What did she-"

"Come on, Roy." Zelda reached out her hand to him, and led him into her room.

He glanced around at the lavender curtains, her finely crafted wooden furniture, and her bed, covered by lavender bed sheets. She took a seat on the edge of the bed, and patted the spot beside her, indicating where he should sit.

"Roy, I wanted to thank you for the evening we had together." she stated first, with a smile. "I don't know about the movie, but you certainly know what I like and dislike. You know that I prefer fruits and vegetables, and what my favorite styles of music are."

She glanced up at the ceiling.

"You did everything that would impress me." she summarized.

Roy grinned briefly.

"Not to mention, you look a lot more like me than Fox does, to put it simply. Everyone has been telling me that you would be a better choice because it wouldn't look as odd."

Roy smiled at her. Zelda met his eyes briefly, then lowered her gaze to her hands.

"... But that's just the thing. It's my choice, not theirs. They've told me to choose by using my eyes... but I have to choose using my heart..."

Roy's expression fell a little bit, but Zelda gently held his hands comfortingly.

"... and my heart is telling me that Fox is the one."

Roy exhaled a short breath of air, disappointment on his face.

"... I thought it would be better to tell you, rather than have you find out the hard way. I've warned Fox that if he does anything to hurt you, I will come back for you. Please, Roy, you have to understand... it was hard for me to choose..."

"But how? He's not even human!" Roy shot out suddenly.

Zelda was startled by his sudden outburst, then her face grew serious.

"I want to ask you something about Fox, Roy. Does he have two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth?"

"... Yeah..."

"Does he walk on two legs instead of four?"

"Yes..."

"Does he understand proper manners?"

"Well, I heard him burp the other day without excusing himself, but I guess he does..."

"Does he speak in a human language rather than in an animal tongue?"

"... Yes..."

"Can he fight using advanced weaponry or fighting techniques, rather than biting or scratching?"

"Yes..."

"Is he capable of understanding and showing emotions like anger, sorrow, happiness, and love?"

"... Yes."

"Then he's human enough for me." Zelda replied.

Roy glanced up at her, realizing it was true.

"And technically, Roy..." she commented, her eyes narrowing briefly. "_...I'm_ not human either."

"... You provide a good point." Roy admitted.

She smiled and gently rested a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not like I'm going to run off and marry him. We can still spend time together... as friends."

"I guess." Roy decided, standing up. "It's just..."

"What now?" Zelda asked.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Roy asked.

"I suppose," Zelda replied.

Roy grinned at her sheepishly, blushing.

"..._ Can I have just one kiss?"_

Zelda laughed softly, shaking her head at his remark. Then she stood up, walked over to him, and gently placed her lips against his cheek.

** --**

**Captain Falcon: (reads through early drafts of Swordplay) Hmm, that's odd...**

**Samus: What?**

**Captain Falcon: Based on what I've seen here, it was originally intended for ROY to get the girl.**

**Samus: Really? I wonder what caused the change?**

**Captain Falcon: (laughs) It actually was reading through Swordplay and listening to Disney music, the author said a few months ago.**

**Samus: ...?**

**Captain Falcon: The author says in this commentary that she was listening to the song "A Whole New World" from _Aladdin_ when she had been reading through the "hug" scene for Fox and Zelda back in Chapter 6.**

**Samus: Oh, is that why she made an allusion to the movie?**

**Captain Falcon: Correct! And it's also Zelda's reasoning for choosing him.**

**Samus: ... Because there's that one lyric, "_Tell me, princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?" ... _Am I right?**

**Captain Falcon: You're a smart lady, Samus Aran. The whole song itself seems to be a good FoxZel song. I wonder what our love song would be...**

**Samus: Don't push it.**


	14. Gifted

**_Swordplay_**

**Captain Falcon: Welcome back to Swordplay everyone! We are finally about to kick off a major story arc!**

**Samus: Well, I don't know about MAJOR...**

**Captain Falcon: Anyway, thanks everyone for being so patient. Summer is a time to relax... but at the same time, it's been very busy for all of us!**

**Samus: Because some people have summer homework sometimes or take classes online...**

**Captain Falcon: We've also been a bit distracted thanks to Avatar and what not.**

**Samus: But it finally ended! I was disappointed, though... I wanted it to end with Zutara.**

**Captain Falcon: Yeah, same here.**

**Samus: Oh well. Guest speaker, do your stuff!**

**Kirby: _Poyo! Bijoukaiba doesn't own Nintendo, Super Smash Brothers Melee, or any of its characters and their related franchises._**

**Captain Falcon and Samus: That's it for now! See you next time!**

**_-&-&-&-&-&-&-&-&-&-&-&-&-&-_**

**Chapter 14: Gifted**

"GAME! This game's winner is... Luigi!"

Luigi and Ness stepped out of the elevator. More appropriately, Luigi stepped out; Ness stormed out.

For the past few weeks, Ness had still been unsuccessful in his matches. He lost to Roy. He lost to Samus, again. He lost to Kirby, again. He lost to the Ice Climbers (Popo had fought him at his best, but Nana had held back a bit). He lost to all of his opponents. The fact that _all_ the fighters were forced to fight now hadn't been much help to him either, although three days of Event Matches, two Classic Mode days, and an Adventure Mode day had provided some cushion. Nevertheless, he now stood with the worst record in the Suites, at 0-15. The only other fighter performing nearly as poorly was Jigglypuff, at 3-12. She had continued to fall asleep during her matches. Everyone kept suggesting to her to quit snoozing, but she kept trying to explain it was part of her fighting technique.

"I feel bad for Ness," Zelda commented at dinner that night to her new boyfriend. "I wish there was something we could do."

"There's nothing we can do," Fox replied. "It all depends on what _he _ can do. Remember? He doesn't want us to go easy on him."

"You have to admire him, though," Marth stated. "He still has the pride to want to win a fight fair and square."

"If that's the case, he might never win." Donkey Kong muttered. "I think he should just swallow his pride and let one of us lose on purpose to him."

"I really want to do something to help him..." Marth sighed.

Master stepped up to the stage, adjusted the microphone and began his usual nightly announcements.

"Well, tomorrow is Friday, so we're close to finishing up the matches for this week." Master announced. "On that note, tomorrow's matches are..."

**_Icicle Mountain: 10:00 a.m. _**

_Bowser vs. Zelda_

**_Princess Peach's Castle: 10:45 a.m._**

_Roy vs. Falco_

**_Poke'mon Stadium: 11:30 a.m._**

_Kirby vs. Jigglypuff_

**_Termina: 1:30 p.m._**

_Fox vs. Yoshi_

**_Yoshi's Island: 2:00 p.m._**

_Samus vs. Peach_

**_Mute City: 2:30 p.m._**

_Pikachu vs. Mario_

**_Yoshi's Story: 3:00 p.m._**

_Link vs. Captain Falcon_

**_Corneria: 3:30 p.m._**

_Dr. Mario vs. Donkey Kong_

**_Green Greens: 4:00 p.m._**

_Luigi vs. Ice Climbers_

**_Rainbow Cruise: 4:30 p.m._**

_Marth vs. Ness_

"Oh dear..." Marth sighed, glancing at Ness. The younger boy glanced at Marth briefly, then turned away. This was the first time they would be matched against each other.

"Oh dear..." Kirby sighed, over on the other side of the room.

"I know you're concerned about fighting Jigglypuff, but if you two are truly friends, everything will turn out okay, no matter who wins." Link reassured. He looked out at Marth on the other side of the room and smiled. "Trust me, I know."

**--**

"You are _not_ going to surrender."

"... But Ness-"

"You're-a not!"

"... but..."

"Marth..."

The prince looked away from Link, staring at his hands folded neatly in his lap. Just like in a college dorm setting, the four residents of the third floor had bonded thanks to their close quarters. Link, Captain Falcon, Luigi, and Marth sometimes stayed briefly together in one of their rooms to chat or enjoy dessert before heading to their own rooms for bed. Tonight they found themselves in Marth's room, discussing their matches for tomorrow.

Link lifted a mug of warm Lon-Lon milk to his lips, wiped his mouth, and set it down again. "Zelda told me about what happened at dinner tonight, and we've all heard Ness himself say he doesn't want anyone going easy on him. So I don't think he wants anyone surrendering on him either."

"We're all concerned about him. We're all friends with the kid," Captain Falcon stated. "Well, everyone except Bowser. But as his friends, we have to respect his wishes... and that means you're going to fight him with the strength and skill that you would use when fighting me."

"Or me." Link added.

"Or-a me," Luigi put in.

Marth finally glanced back up at them.

"... okay."

**--**

Warm omelettes were prepared for breakfast the next morning. There was nothing major to note, except Master and Crazy were overheard arguing about decorations and shopping.

Soon after, the fighters found themselves bundled up and walking out to the battle building.

Bowser, as a cold-blooded reptile, had been finding it difficult to deal with the cold weather, even in the simulated world of the Ice Climbers. He kept using his fire-breathing ability against Zelda as an attempt to help him stay warm and alert, but Hyrule's beloved princess still managed to outdo him thanks to some help from the Poke'mon known as Articuno and a Bob-Omb.

At Princess Peach's Castle, Roy and Falco made use of the items that popped up from the colored blocks that appeared and disappeared whenever a switch was activated. Falco had gone for more of the futuristic items, such as a Super Scope, a Ray Gun, and a motion-sensor bomb. Roy grabbed the items he was more familiar with- a fan, a beam sword, and... a hammer. It was a fun little game of cat-and-mouse for Roy as he chased Falco off, slamming him with the hammer twice, before Falco finally escaped safely to the other side of the castle where Roy couldn't reach him... but where a giant Bullet Bill could. The explosion threw Falco off the side of the arena, giving Roy the victory.

Now came Kirby and Jigglypuff's match. They landed in the Poke'mon Stadium, where Jigglypuff would have a 'home-field advantage'. Kirby was cautious to directly attack her, but he didn't want to leave her feeling insulted, so he fought her with Poke'balls- he had a Marill, a Goldeen, and a Venusaur come to his aid (although Goldeen hadn't really been much help). Jigglypuff went more after physical fighting, slapping and pounding Kirby out of his wits. She also got hold of a Poke'ball- this one contained Togepi. Metronome allowed it to use an explosive attack that threw Kirby into the sky.

For lunch, Ruby had prepared warm slices of pizza. Jigglypuff was a little frustrated at Kirby, thinking he had gone easy on her, but she let him sit with her anyway. Master stepped up to make an announcement, something he rarely did at lunch.

"Oh, great. What's it this time?" Bowser asked.

Master frowned. "We were cleaning last night and forgot to switch the powdered soap with Parmesan cheese."

Several fighters clutched their throats in disgust, some of them went to throw their pizza away, and Roy and Popo tried gargling water to see if they could blow bubbles out of their mouths.

"I'm _kidding._" Master groaned. "I just wanted to let you all know there is an important meeting tonight, so I expect everyone to show up."

Bowser appeared ready to complain, but Crazy silenced him. "Don't worry, this will be a fuuuuun meeting! You'll see! You'll all see!"

**--**

Fox and Yoshi's match followed after lunch. Set in Termina, they had the elements of water and the island-turtle to use to their advantage... or their disadvantage. Yoshi landed on the lower platform and started tossing eggs at Fox.

"He always uses egg weaponry," Marth commented to Captain Falcon. "Do you think Yoshi can use anything else as weapons?"

"... I don't know, I think eggs are his natural weapon. Why?"

"Oh, I don't know. I just thought it would be fun to see Yoshi roll up into a big rock sometime... or maybe when he swallows someone, they would be trapped inside a fruit like a peach... and maybe instead of throwing his eggs, he could toss his cookies! What's wrong?"

Marth stared in confusion at Captain Falcon, who was shaking in silent laughter.

"Wah!"

A flash of light coming from underwater indicated that Yoshi had sunk too far and therefore lost the match.

Less than a half-hour later, Samus and Peach found themselves pitted in fierce combat on Yoshi's Island. Hits were evenly traded and each female fighter threw in dodges and blocks from each other's hits as well. Samus used a motion sensor bomb to finish off the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom by tossing it on top of a platform and using a high, arched kick that sent Peach flying backwards against it.

Pikachu really seemed to have an advantage over Mario on the short platform while fighting in Mute City. Pikachu could use its more powerful attacks within closer range, and even when the plumber occasionally punched or kicked the Poke'mon off, it could use its decent recovery techniques to return to fighting without much risk. However, Mario would come out victorious after Pikachu's recovery fell short at one point on the track, causing it to get tumbled up among the F-Zero cars. The infamous Black Bull smashed Pikachu powerfully and sent it falling off the side of the screen, giving Mario victory. How ironic that so long ago Pikachu had defeated Mario thanks to the help from a futuristic jet; now Mario had defeated Pikachu thanks to the help of futuristic racecars.

On Yoshi's Story, Captain Falcon used speed and his raw strength to his advantage to defeat Link. He used a low kick to start spinning the blocks that would flatten into paper-like strips when hit hard enough. Link ran towards Captain Falcon, but was careful to jump above the newly created pit, when Captain Falcon caught him- he leapt higher than Link and roughly planted his feet into Link's shoulders with a spiking kick. Link was thrown down heavily by the impact; he had officially lost the match before he could even think about attempting to recover.

Donkey Kong defeated Dr. Mario by grabbing him and tossing him off the nose of the ship, then playing 'edge guard' until the doctor was finally too far away to recover from the hits and grab onto the nose of the plane.

At Green Greens, Luigi defeated the Ice Climbers by cleverly separating them thanks to some help from the animated tree that blew powerful gusts across the stage from time to time. He fought them conservatively until Nana was pushed backwards by the strong breeze. Luigi leapt forward and kicked her with both feet, then grabbed her ankles, spun around to build momentum, and threw her off the right side of the arena. She was unable to recover on her own, leaving Popo to do the fighting. Luigi merely repeated the technique he applied against Nana to vanquish Popo in their match as well.

"GAME!" Master declared. "This game's winner is... LUIGI!"

The younger plumber waved his fists around in the air before bending over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath as a victory pose.

"Very well... then the last match of the day will be Marth against Ness... then we're done for the day until dinner, when we have our meeting..." Crazy announced. He clapped his hands together rapidly in joy and excitement. "... OOOOOOHHHH!! I CAN'T WAIT!!"

_I can._ Marth thought to himself, glancing at Ness.

**--**

Unfortunately for Marth, four-thirty finally reared its ugly head.

He and Ness stepped into the elevator, awaiting their match to begin. Ness in anticipation, Marth in dread.

Marth shut his eyes as the arena virtualized around them. Despite the bright, warm surroundings of the clear blue sky and multi-colored platforms and ship, a dark, cold hand was clenched on Marth's heart. He stared down at his shoes, at the wooden floor of the ship's deck. How could such a simple match be so difficult for him? He hadn't even heard Master announce the match had begun, and was rudely awaken from his trance by a baseball bat swinging against his head.

Marth stumbled backwards, shaking off the shock of the blow, then stared up at Ness.

"C'mon, Marth!" Ness taunted. "If you're not going to fight me, that's the last hit I'm going to use against you!"

Marth shook his head with a sigh and drew out Falchion from the sheath at his hip. _He still has the pride to want to win a fight fair and square._

Marth dashed forward and swept his blade against Ness's trunk, knocking the boy backwards and slightly up. Marth quickly pulled his blade backwards and smashed it down upon Ness in a sweeping combo.

"PK Fire!" Ness shouted, hurling his arms forward in mid-air. A spark of orange energy flew forward, and when it struck Marth, a small spout of flames engulfed his body.

Marth quickly dodged backwards as Ness also made his landing on the upper deck of the ship. He clenched his fists and shouted, "PK Flash!"

The young boy concentrated a field of green energy around his body and as a large, floating spark. The spark began to drift towards Marth from the air. The prince quickly dashed underneath it to strike Ness, who was left completely vulnerable while charging. He performed a quick, three-part Dancing Blade combo, before slamming his blade down on Ness's shoulder in a graceful yet powerful sweep. The hit knocked him off of the back of the ship.

"PK Thunder!" Ness shouted in mid-air. He held two fingers to his temples, channeling a small ball of electricity from his mind. It followed a curvy trajectory, and Ness seemed to have poor control over the path it took. It finally made a full circle, and Marth understood that it was Ness's way of recovering. Unfortunately, his recovery backfired and flew underneath his feet and up directly in front of him, rather than striking him from behind. Ness floated down into the depths of the arena into the out-of-bounds (and therefore, the losing) region just as the Rainbow Cruise docked at a platform.

"Game. This game's winner is Marth," Master announced, clearly bored with the results. "Now then! I will see all of you at dinner."

After exitting the elevator, Marth noticed that Ness didn't seem nearly as upset as he had the past few weeks, but he still would not face the prince.

"Hey, Marth?" the boy asked, "Can I speak to you alone?"

**--**

The snow crunched underneath Marth's boots and Ness's shoes as they exitted the battle room. Everyone else had re-entered the mansion where the rooms were, where the temperature was obviously warmer and Ruby would have hot chocolate waiting. The two of them marched through the snow towards the ocean. Marth wasn't sure what to say, but luckily Ness started out the conversation.

"There's something special about you, Marth. I just can't put my finger on _ what_... but there's just something."

Marth looked down at the younger boy, confused. "... What do you mean?"

"You mean you don't notice the way Master and Crazy treat you? They have little- if any- respect for you at all. Of course, they're not so fond of Captain Falcon or Bowser either... but that's because Captain Falcon's paranoid about them and Bowser's just a jerk."

A small smile tugged at the sides of Marth's lips when Ness made the 'jerk' comment about Bowser.

"... But you've shown no suspicion about them and you're one of the most polite people here. So _why _do they hate you anyway?"

Marth shook his head, silent. Both of them stood at the line where the sand met the snow.

"That's not all," Ness commented. "... I know we should have told you this a while ago... but..."

Ness fidgeted with his jacket, trying to straighten it, as a sign of nervousness.

"... but... you didn't come out of one of those gray rooms like Roy and Jigglypuff did. Zelda and I found you on the beach, soaking wet, like you had been in the ocean."

Marth ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh, and then rested his forehead in his palms.

"_Why? Why don't I remember?_" He asked. "When I saw the Fountain of Dreams, it looked familiar. When I was introduced to Link, I thought I had heard his name before." Marth shook his head, his voice starting to tremble. "_I've been through so much but I can't remember any of it!_"

"Marth..." Ness said his name with reassurance in his voice. "I don't know what memories you've lost, or how many of them are gone... but your friends will do what they can to help you! Link, Captain Falcon, Samus, Zelda... and me. We'll find a way to get your memories back."

"Will you share one of your memories with me?" Marth asked, sounding much calmer now.

"Okay," Ness replied, grinning. "There was this one night when I woke up after hearing this loud explosion. I went out in my pajamas and met with my neighbors, Pokey and Picky. We all went out and found this big meteor up on the hill behind my house. A bee named Buzz Buzz came out and asked us to help assist in a quest to save the world- my world at least. Pokey said no and Picky was too young... but I agreed."

Ness continued to relate his story- describing how he met his friends Jeff, Paula, and Poo; talking about the silly times in the Saturn Valley; describing a wacky photographer who seemed to come out of nowhere and tell them to say "Fuzzy pickles!"; and finally the battles against Pokey and Giygas to save the world.

"I was gifted with the power to save my world," Ness commented, gazing down at his hands. "So why can't I try to win a single fight here?"

"You keep telling yourself to _try_," Marth replied. "Maybe it's time to tell yourself to _do._"

"Maybe you're right..." Ness said softly.

The two stood there silently. Marth gazed up at the wilted weeping willow tree further down the beach, dying from the cold. Ness gazed down at the ground.

"So... 'fuzzy pickles', huh?" Marth asked with a small chuckle.

"Guys! Guys!" Popo and Nana shouted, running over. "Come inside, you must be cold! Plus dinner's a few minutes away, and that means the surprise that Crazy promised is coming!"

Marth and Ness exchanged a smile, then ran off after the Ice Climbers.

**--**

After the warm chicken and mashed potatoes were consumed, Master and Crazy came forward to make their announcement. Crazy had his hands stuffed into his pockets, which appeared to be bulging full of... something.

"All right, as you all know it's winter." Master declared.

"No, duh," said a voice among the fighters. It wasn't hard to figure out who.

"Now, several of you come from different religions so I guess we won't call it... 'Christmas' per se, but I think it would still be nice to have a holiday."

For those who understood what 'Christmas' meant, excited chatter began to spread through the room. Master held up his gloved hand as a request for silence.

"So, we will have a little gift exchange a week from today. Crazy and I have assembled several catalogs for you to order presents from, so you'll have a week to decide on what to get. There are some craft kits and things like that in a few of these catalogs if you wanted to make a present for someone rather than buy something."

Crazy ran off the stage for a moment to speak with Diddy. He quickly returned carrying Diddy's baseball cap in one hand. He took his other hand and reached into his pocket, then pulled out handfuls of the 'things' and shuffled them in the cap. It was clear now that they were slips of paper.

"All right, everyone will come up and pull out a slip of paper. Each piece has a name on it," Crazy held up a slip that had his name on it. "Try to get this slip, okay? Anyway, the person's name on the slip is the name of the person you have to get a gift for! But don't tell anyone who you got! If you draw your own name, just tell me and you can draw again. I'll shuffle these up one more time, and then I'll call you up to pick your receiver. How 'bout you go first, Diddy? It's your hat."

Diddy went up to the stage and pulled out a name, blinked at it in surprise, then curled his tail around the paper and ambled back to the bar to sit with Malon.

"Eenie, meenie, minie... Bowser! You pick next!" Crazy declared. The koopa king grumbled, walked up and pulled out a name, stared at it and laughed, then crumbled the paper into a ball in his hand as he returned to his seat.

"Ruuuuby! Come on, we can't forget you! Come pick a name!"

The sweet chef walked up and drew a name, tucked it into the pocket of her apron, and returned to the kitchen.

Spike was selected next, followed by Peach.

"Hmmm... wait! I can't forget myself!" Crazy pulled out a piece of paper, read it, and shoved it in his pocket.

"Okay, Joy, your turn!"

After the nurse pulled a name, Yoshi was called up, then Malon. She giggled at the name she drew and pranced back to the bar.

Pikachu was called, then Falco. He scratched his head in awkward surprise at the name he drew.

Mario stepped up to draw a name, and smiled at the slip he pulled out. Dr. Mario stepped up next, and shrugged at the name he drew. Kirby was called up after that.

"Captain Falcon, your turn!"

The bounty hunter drew out a name, then glanced up at the fighters awaiting their turn. His eyes scanned the room until he found the table where Marth, Jigglypuff, Mario, and Samus were sitting. A grin flashed over his face.

"Oh, wow..." Samus muttered sarcastically, noticing that he was looking over at her. "I wonder whose name _he _drew." Marth laughed with her, though, as Popo went up to draw a name. Fox went up next, and his girlfriend soon followed. Ness went up next, and groaned at the name he drew.

"It had to be Bowser," Marth said with a sigh.

Master took over calling out the names, calling for Luigi first. Jigglypuff was next, and appeared tickled pink (even though she was already pink) at the name she drew. Roy was next, and he blushed at the name he drew. Nana went next, and shook her head and laughed at the name she drew.

Alice was puzzled by the name she drew, yet she also appeared slightly disappointed. Samus went after her and chuckled at the name she drew.

"Link, your turn." Master announced. Link stepped forward and drew out the name, but didn't peek at it until he sat down.

**_MA_**

_Well, that's interesting..._ Link was intrigued, but shook the idea from his head. No, it couldn't be. It was probably just Master or Malon.

**_MAR_**

Link's heart sped up. Maybe he had gotten lucky! A smile flashed on his face. Excited, he opened the paper completely.

**_MARIO_**

Link sighed, but smiled anyway. At least he was good friends with Mario as well.

Donkey Kong was called up next. He pulled out the name and sat back down.

"And finally, Marth." The prince stepped up to the stage and removed the last name from the hat, then walked back to his table and sat down.

"Well, this has been fun. Did everyone like who they got? If not... too bad! Someone has to give that person a present, and it has to be you. And to help you decide on the gift to get, there will be no matches next week." Master nodded and stepped away from the microphone with his brother.

"Crazy, wait! Give me back my hat!" Diddy shouted. Crazy flung it across the room like a frisbee, and Diddy caught it by leaping up and grabbing it with one hand.

Marth opened his slip and blinked in surprise. It was so convenient. He knew exactly what to do, what to get this person. Things couldn't have worked out better for the prince.

**_NESS_**

**_--_**

**Captain Falcon: And thus concludes one of our shortest chapters ever.**

**Samus: We apologize for the delay, as does the authoress.**

**Captain Falcon: Avatar, summer homework and classes, plus a new fanfiction have caused some delays.**

**Samus: Yeah, I've read it before. "The Falsebound Kingdom"! I started reading it back in Chapter 8. It's not bad, there's a lot of foreshadowing and symbolism... it's quite exciting.**

**Captain Falcon: I noticed there was some foreshadowing in this chapter too.**

**Samus: Hmm, really? I'll have to go back and look for that.**

**Kirby: Poyo! Thanks for reading!**


	15. A Very Strong Word

**Samus: On behalf of the authoress, we wish to apologize for so many delays.**

**Captain Falcon: She has been writing, but for an entirely different purpose.**

**Samus: You see, there comes a point in every young girl's life...**

**Captain Falcon: ... when she has to start applying to college.**

**Samus: So there've been essays and resumes.**

**Captain Falcon: But she's got a break now, so we can resume our story!**

**Falco: Here, I'll handle this. _The author claims no ownership of Nintendo, the Super Smash Brothers series, or any of its related characters or franchises._**

_**-----------------------------------------------------**_

**Chapter 15: A Very Strong Word**

"Ness? Ness?" A faint voice called to the young boy in his sleep.

"Ness, wake up. It's me, Marth."

The prince gently shook the boy's shoulder, who replied by pulling the covers over his head with a groan.

"Ness!" the prince hissed.

"Awww, but Marth..." A head of toussled black hair emerged from underneath the sheets. He glanced over at his digital clock. "It's six thirty in the morning..."

"Get dressed," Marth ordered as he walked over to Ness's closet and pulled out a pair of denim shorts and a gray T-shirt. "We're going to the gym."

He yanked the covers off of Ness, who shot up in surprise.

"Geez!"

"Well, you weren't being very cooperative," Marth replied. He placed the clothes on the bed next to the younger boy. For the first time, Ness looked up to notice Marth was dressed in a blue sweatshirt with matching sweatpants.

"I'll step outside for a moment so you can change," the prince said, walking toward Ness's door. Quietly shutting the door behind him (so as not to wake Mario, Peach, and Jigglypuff), the prince leaned against the wall and yawned. He also wasn't used to waking up this early.

_Helping Ness train was a pretty good idea. His first victory would be a great present. But I should get him something material as well, just so it won't feel so awkward when we exchange gifts. I wonder who got my name? I wonder who got Link's? I wonder what we're having for breakfast today..._

His thoughts were cut off when he heard the door open and close again.

"Okay, I'm ready." Ness whispered.

Marth smiled and walked with him into the gym. Futuristic equipment foreign to Marth- dumbells, training bikes, treadmills, punching bags, and more- were placed around the room. There was another door at the end of the room which likely was for the indoor pool.

"I don't think we should go swimming when it's so cold outside," Marth remarked as he flipped the light switch on. "So we'll use the stuff in here. I'll need your help to figure out how this stuff works..."

"No problem, I'll start on the treadmill," Ness replied, leading Marth to the mentioned equipment. "It helps you train in running."

"Oh, good! Speed is one thing you need to work on... no offense." the prince blurted, then apologized.

Ness didn't reply, turning on the treadmill. With a low hum, the machine came to life. Marth watched in amazement as the belt on the treadmill slowly started to rotate.

"See? I have to walk to keep up. But it's really slow right now." Ness explained.

"There's arrow buttons on here," Marth commented. "Do those speed it up?"

"Yeah,"

"Okay," the prince replied, pressing the button several times. The belt picked up pace and Ness had to jog to keep up with it.

Marth spotted a blank digital readout listed as "Timer", with arrows next to it. He had a feeling he knew what those buttons were for. The prince pressed the up arrow several times, until the digital numbers read 10:00. The numbers slowly began to count down, second by second.

"All right, keep running for ten minutes." Marth ordered. "I'll be right back."

He watched Ness running, then turned to leave the gym. Marth walked outside quietly, heading down to the cafeteria. Ruby, Malon, and Diddy were already awake, helping prepare breakfast that morning.

"Up already?" Malon asked as the prince approached.

"Yes," Marth replied. "We've had training to do."

"We?" Malon asked.

"Ness and I," the prince clarified. "Can I get some water?"

Diddy passed two bottles of water to the Hyrulian girl, who handed them to Marth.

"Don't worry about getting too hot! All you have to do is walk outside!" Malon called out to the prince as he left the cafeteria.

Marth walked down the hallway and reentered the gym. Ness had done a good job of keeping up pace.

As the minutes passed, Ness began to perspire. The timer finally beeped and Ness slowed the treadmill down until it stopped completely, giving him a chance to catch his breath.

"Water... please..." the younger boy panted.

Marth handed him the bottle of water. He thirstily began to chug the contents, until Marth snatched it away.

"Hey!" Ness whined.

"You'll make yourself sick if you drink that fast! Besides, you'll want to save some for the rest of the workout. Take a few minutes to rest up, then we'll move on."

**-----------------------------------------**

After working on his muscle strength by doing basic muscle exercises, Ness and Marth headed to the cafeteria after finally cooling off. They took seats with the Ice Climbers, as though sitting with them would make them feel cooler... literally.

"Why didn't you guys get pancakes?" Nana asked, gesturing to her plate. Hers were topped with syrup, powdered sugar, and a halved strawberry.

Marth and Ness glanced down at their scrambled eggs and wheat toast. Marth had also gotten strawberries to eat, whereas Ness went for apple and orange slices.

"Just trying to eat healthy before the big holiday. There'll probably be a big meal," the prince replied with a cute smile.

"So..." Popo started, a mischievious grin on his face, "Who did you get for your Secret Santa?"

"Popo! We're not supposed to talk about that!" Nana scolded, shaking a mitten-clad finger at him.

"Well, Popo, since you asked..." Marth said, lowering his voice. He leaned across the table and gestured for Popo to lean over. He whispered in the younger boy's ear, "_It's called SECRET Panda for a reason!"_

Popo pulled away, laughing, leaving Marth confused.

"What?" the prince asked. "Secret Pandas are supposed to be kept secret, aren't they?"

Ness also started laughing, and Nana burst into a giggling fit.

"Marth, it's SANTA, not panda!" she corrected him as she caught her breath.

"Oh, okay. Whatever a Santa is..." Marth repeated. "...Whatever a Santa is, Popo, you probably shouldn't talk about secrets."

"Okay, okay." Popo replied, silent laughter still shaking him.

**------------------------------------------------------------**

After breakfast, Marth and Ness went for a casual walk around the grounds, even passing by the ocean where they had spoken the day before.

"There's an awful lot of forest behind the buildings," Ness observed.

"Hmmm... yes, there is," Marth agreed. "Any reason why you brought that up?"

"Well... are we on the edge of a continent, or on an island?"

Marth thought this over for a moment, then replied, "... I honestly have no idea."

"Exactly," Ness continued. "We don't know how deep that forest goes. And where the forest ends, what will we find? Are there more people here? Another shore line? Cities? Mountains?"

"We really have no idea where we are, do we?" Marth asked.

Ness shook his head.

"No, we don't." He glanced up at Marth, who appeared worried. Ness grinned apologetically and waved a hand around casually. "But, I mean, it's probably nothing to be worried about! Master and Crazy know what this place is like, so that's really all that matters. We shouldn't be getting paranoid like Captain Falcon."

"He's too smart and brave to be paranoid... maybe there is something to fear here...."

"Whether there is or not, we've been fine. I really don't think there's anything here to be afraid about. We're just playing a game to have fun so they can take stats on us."

"Umm... 'stats'?"

"Notes," Ness explained as simple as possible. "Probably like time, and how hard a person hits, and..."

The younger boy frowned down at the snow. "... how much a person wins and loses."

"Don't worry," Marth reassured, "You'll win your first fight soon, I know it!"

Ness smiled up at the prince, then they continued walking.

**--------------------------------------------------**

After eating healthy lunches, Marth brought Ness to one of the training rooms for practice fighting. For Ness's convenience, he selected Onett as their destination. They stood atop the tree by the leftmost house.

"Now, I don't know your PSI powers work, so I'm afraid I can't tell you any new moves or how to control them. Just... show me your moves."

Ness nodded, and stepped in front of Marth. He took a deep breath to brace himself.

"PK FLASH!" the younger boy cried, clenching his fists. A green flash of energy generated from the boy floated very slowly overhead as he directed its motion to the awnings over the drugstore. Upon release, it created a massive, bright explosion.

"Incredible!" Marth marveled, having to shield his eyes. "This would be great to use in a fight! Now then, can you use it any faster?"

Again, Ness repeated the technique with a familiar shout. After the explosion, he turned to Marth and replied, "Nope. That's as fast as I can go."

"I don't know how you could train to use that attack faster, but I advise you to try and train that way. An attack like that might almost be as strong as a Falcon Punch... but it's much slower... I'd suggest you save that PK Flash for slow enemies, or when they're stunned or frozen somehow."

"Okay, if I'm going to use my next technique, I need a target."

"Well... I'm pretty sure training doesn't hurt... just like fighting. You can try it on me!"

"I dunno, Marth... you could get burned pretty badly..."

The prince unsheathed Falchion and slid the sharp edge of the blade against his fingers. He pressed against them to feel for any evidence of a cut or bleeding or pain.

"... Nope! I'm perfectly fine. Show me the next technique."

Ness drew his hands back, then swung them down in front of him, releasing a small burst of energy.

"PK FIRE!" he shouted.

Upon making contact with Marth's leg, the little blast of energy erupted into a large column of flames. Marth was caught in the attack and couldn't escape until the flames died down.

"That attack probably wouldn't be very powerful," Marth admitted, "but it might be a good way to trap someone and slow them down."

Now that the prince was a good distance away, Ness attempted his next technique. Placing two fingers against each of his temples, Ness squatted down, as though bracing for impact.

"PK THUNDER!" he shouted, as a ball of electricity with a stream tail was generated. It followed a jagged path until it finally died out, just short of hitting Marth.

"I don't know about that one either," Marth sighed. "It can't reach very far and doesn't do a lot of damage. But I've seen you use it to try and hit yourself when you're in the air... jump up and try using it on yourself!"

Ness jumped up and attempted the attack, only to have it fly out underneath his feet.

"Missed," the younger boy muttered.

"That's okay, try again! Focus!"

Ness jumped back up and repeated the technique with similar results.

"Just try it one more time. Remember, concentrate! Focus!"

Ness sighed and jumped up again, trying to empty his mind of losing, embarrassment... and focused on using the technique, and how he would use it to defeat someone in battle.

"PK THUNDER!" the orb followed a fairly circular path, following underneath Ness and striking him in the feet to create an upward thrust. "WHOOOAA!"

His body spun around until slowing down as he reached the height of the extra 'jump'. He slowly floated back down the ground, landing neatly on his feet.

"Nice job!" Marth congratulated. "I know it might be harder to concentrate when you actually fight someone, but keep practicing and maybe it'll be like an instinct for you."

"And that's really all the PK I know... I do know PK Magnet, but that acts as more of a shield against bullets, fire, and other stuff."

"All right... now we'll work on some of your more physical attacks."

Ness practiced using his kicks and punches while Marth blocked them as best as he could. He even attacked Marth with the baseball bat in his backpack, as well as his baseball glove. Marth also had Ness try attacking from the air... he was pretty good, but there was one attack Ness had some trouble with. He would stomp his foot down at an enemy from mid-air, but since Ness wasn't familiar with having to stomp his foot into the air, it was a little slower. Nevertheless, Marth told Ness to continue practicing the move, telling him that it still appeared pretty powerful.

After taking a few minutes to catch their breath, he also had Ness practice his grab and throw techniques. Although the boy mainly relied on PSI power for lifting his opponent, some physical strength went into it as well.

"Huh... you're really light for a teenager," Ness commented as Marth stood up after being tossed several feet forward.

The prince grinned at the comment, perhaps a bit awkwardly, then praised Ness for the fighting they had done. "Very good! You need just a little more work, but I know you'll be ready to win the next time you fight! And I know these things, trust me!"

**----------------------------------------------------------**

After a hearty yet healthy meal, Ness and Marth both got a good night's sleep. The next two days, they continued to train together, but on a lighter scale. They both would go for a walk or a jog around the grounds right before a meal, and sometimes they even got a little bit of company. Link, Nana, and Mario were the most frequent ones to join them.

On the third day, Marth went to greet Ness in his room...

... But the young boy wasn't there.

Marth went to check the cafeteria next, then the training rooms, the bathing rooms, even the Ice Climbers' room and Pikachu's room... and there was no sign of the younger boy.

Marth was starting to get really concerned now. He returned to his room to pull on a jacket, then ran outside to look for his friend. The prince considered checking the battle tower, where all the matches were held. Perhaps Ness was training in there?

He opened the door, and went inside. Sure enough, there was a small crowd of his friends inside, as well as Master and Crazy.

Ness was standing in the middle of the room, looking disappointed. Jigglypuff was also with him, apparently trying to apologize.

"Jig, jigglypuff. Puff ig jig jigglypuff jig puff. Iggly Puff jig ig puff ig igglypuff jigglypuff jigpuff." (Ness, I'm sorry. I fought you as best as I could. Maybe I should have been a little bit easier on you...)

"Well... since matches weren't supposed to resume until the holidays were over, we won't include this in your record," Master said.

"Yeah, you have enough losses as it is..." Crazy blurted. "Oops! Was that out loud?"

Link glared at him, then turned to Ness with a reassuring look on his face.

"It's all right, Ness. You almost beat her! ... Jigglypuff just grabbed the Bob-Omb before you could..."

Ness didn't reply; he was too embarrassed, too ashamed to reply. He glanced over and noticed Marth standing in the doorway... and felt a new emotion fill him. Anger.

"You said you 'know' these things." he said to the prince, who appeared confused. "Well, you don't! I just lost! Again!"

"But Ness-"

"The training didn't work!"

"No, it will. You just haven't been trained enough. I wasn't expecting to finish training you until the holidays ended, or whenever you won your first fight."

Ness pulled his jacket on and brushed past the prince angrily. Marth was about to follow the boy, try to reassure him, but was stopped when the boy spoke in a low voice so only Marth could hear him.

"_I hate you._"

Ness slammed the door behind him and stormed outside.

Everyone stood there in silence, amazed at how upset the young boy was.

"So, umm..." Crazy started, trying to break the awkward silence. "Anyone want some hot chocolate?"

**------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Ness refused to leave his room the rest of the day; Malon ended up having to deliver his meals there so he would eat. Other than that, he refused to let anyone enter his room.

After dinner, the four fighters on the third floor had met together in a room to hang out, this time in Marth's room.

"I can't believe this happened..." Marth commented with a sigh.

"Don't take it so hard. I don't think Ness really meant to say... that," Link tried to reassure.

"No... I know he didn't mean to say it. I'm just surprised that Ness thought he'd be ready by now... and how angry it made him to lose."

"Well-a, the kid's pretty frustrated," Luigi pointed out. "I mean, I'm-a pretty new here, but I've-a got a better record than him-a already..."

"Exactly, he just got frustrated." Captain Falcon agreed. "Marth, you're reading into this too much. Ness is a good kid. Tomorrow, he'll apologize and be ready to practice some more before he tries fighting again."

"You really think so?" the prince asked, glancing up at the bounty hunter.

"It makes-a sense to me," Luigi replied.

"They're right, Marth," Link stated with a smile. "Tomorrow morning, everything will be back to normal."

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------**

The next morning, Marth and Link walked down to the cafeteria for breakfast. Ness hadn't come up to Marth's room to apologize... but Link assured Marth he might be eating breakfast now, and then they could make up.

Marth and Link took their usual seats with Samus and Captain Falcon. Today, scrambled eggs and bacon was on the menu.

"Have either of you seen Ness today?" Marth asked. "I don't think he's in here..."

"He might still be in his room, sulking about yesterday." Samus responded

Before Link or Captain Falcon could add their input, Master came forward to the front of the room.

"Good morning, fighters," he greeted them.

Something was different today.

Master was speaking in a very dull tone, and he had a very serious look on his face. Even Crazy appeared displeased by... something.

"I have two very important pieces of news to share with you."

"What's going on?" Marth whispered to Link.

"The first... there is a blizzard headed our way, expected to hit this afternoon. All fighters will be required to remain in the Suites at that time, in a lock-down, due to the risks."

"... What's the second?" someone asked within the audience.

Master shook his head.

"The second... is that Ness apparently ran away last night..."

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Samus: Uh-oh. Ness could get trapped out there in the blizzard!**

**Captain Falcon: We'll just have to find the kid before the snowstorm hits.**

**Samus: So, college applications and essays are done! The author got into UCF, and is waiting to hear back from UF.**

**Captain Falcon: She's also been working really hard on another fanfic, titled "The Falsebound Kingdom".**

**Samus: Yes, I remember reading that in Chapter 8. Pretty good story...**

**Captain Falcon: On behalf of the author, we apologize again for the delays in publishing this chapter. We would greatly appreciate reviews or comments, even if we don't deserve them for making you wait.**


	16. Not One, But Two

**Captain Falcon: How is everyone doing today?**

**Samus: It's us, the hosts of Swordplay, with exciting news!**

**Captain Falcon: The author's game disc for SSBM, which was previously malfunctioning, is now in proper order!**

**Samus: Therefore, it'll be easier to keep her interest in Swordplay from now on. But wait! There's more!**

**Captain Falcon: There is a good chance the author will be getting a Wii by the end of January!**

**Samus: Hmm... toss in a game of Brawl, and she'd definitely be hooked.**

**Captain Falcon: Miss bijou has mentioned that she'd like to add Olimar and your Zero-Suit form to her list of mains, and possibly Ike as well.**

**Samus: Oh, really? How about we "poof" him in for the disclaimer?**

**Ike: (poofs in) Huh? What?**

**Samus: Here. (hands him a piece of paper)**

**Ike: Read aloud... _bijoukaiba claims no ownership of Super Smash Brothers Melee, Nintendo, or any related characters and their franchises_.**

**Captain Falcon: Enjoy the chapter, everyone! Let's hope Ness is all right!**

**-----------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 16: Not One, But Two**

"Ness is... gone?" Marth asked, still in shock from Master's announcement.

"Well, you know what this means, don't you?" Captain Falcon asked aloud, standing up to attract everyone's attention. "We have to go out and find him!"

"Suicide," Master disagreed, shaking his head. "The blizzard that's forecasted to come would be too dangerous to risk _everyone's_ lives to save _one_ fighter."

"Haven't you ever heard of the Three Musketeers?" Peach asked, supporting Captain Falcon. "All for one, and one for all!"

"Uhh... no..." Crazy replied dumbly, then laughed briefly.

"What if we tried searching for him _before_ the blizzard arrives?" Zelda asked. "If we find him before the blizzard arrives, we could bring him back... Dr. Mario could attend to anyone suffering from the cold... and then everyone - ALL of us - would be inside the Suites."

Master rubbed his bare hand over his gloved hand uneasily... almost as if he was _against_ the idea of saving Ness. At last, he spoke.

"... Very well then. The blizzard is expected to head our way around three this afternoon... you will have until then. Since this was your decision, my brother and I will not take part in this 'rescue mission' of yours, nor will the staff of the Suites. I _still _say it's too dangerous..." Master stated. He beckoned Crazy to follow him, and they left the room.

Captain Falcon glared at them, and Diddy and Malon even exchanged a few words, suggesting that they protested the idea of being unable to help. Marth glanced up at the clock. Breakfast had been a little bit late that morning; it was now nine-thirty.

The fighters gathered together in the room, trying to decide how to find their missing friend.

"I think the simplest and best way to find Ness would be to split up into search parties," Captain Falcon stated. "I doubt Ness could've traveled out to sea, so we have five directions to search... east along the shore, west along the shore, northwest into the forest, northeast into the forest, and straight north into the forest. There's twenty of us here, so we can split into five groups of four."

"I'm sticking with Popo," Nana commented, holding her close friend's hand.

"And I'll stick with Mario," Peach added.

"Same goes for me and Link," Marth put in.

"All right, all right. This is getting confusing," Captain Falcon complained. "How about everyone just picks a partner? Then we can put two pairs together. Samus...?"

Partners were soon figured out. Link and Marth, Popo and Nana, Peach and Mario, Samus and Falcon, Kirby and Jigglypuff, and Fox and Zelda were among the quickest to partner up. Dr. Mario ended up paired with Pikachu, Bowser with Falco, Donkey Kong with Luigi, and Yoshi with Roy.

"All right... Samus and I will go with Link and Marth to the north. Dr. Mario and Pikachu can go with Bowser and Falco to the northwest. Mario and Peach, you'll go with Yoshi and Roy to the northeast. Donkey Kong and Luigi, you'll go with Popo and Nana to the west. And Fox and Zelda, you'll go with Kirby and Jigglypuff to the east."

"Wait a little bit," stated a voice behind them. Everyone turned to see Malon and Ruby standing behind them.

"We'll pack some non-perishable food for your lunches while you're out there, so you can look a little longer for Ness," Ruby explained.

Peach smiled up at them. "Thank you! That's so very nice of you to offer!"

"He's such a sweet kid," Malon sighed. "I really want him to come back safely..."

_Me too..._ Marth thought sadly. _Me too..._

**---------------------------------------------**

Everyone had now set out in their respective directions, dressed appropriately for the weather. Three hours later, many fighters had already eaten and had traveled a fair distance. Some were starting to get tired, yet some were still determined to find Ness.

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind when we were grouped together," Fox commented to Kirby, holding the puffball-like creature in his arms.

"Well, it's not _our _faults," Kirby replied, exchanging a glance with Jigglypuff in Zelda's arms, "They don't have any shoes for us to wear."

"You're already wearing shoes! Bright red ones!" Fox exclaimed.

"Well, they're _not_ snowshoes or boots, so I'm not gonna risk my feet freezing off." Kirby replied.

"What?!"

"Please don't argue," Zelda sighed. "We need to work on finding Ness."

"Puff jiggly ig puff jig puff jig Ig igglypuff," Jigglypuff sighed, fidgeting with the bag of snacks in her 'hands'. (I shouldn't have been so tough on Ness in battle.)

"Jigglypuff, don't blame yourself," Zelda said, giving the singing Poke'mon a friendly 'squeeze' of a hug. "Nobody's to blame here. Not you, not Marth. Ness just made a bad decision while he was frustrated."

"We'll find him, don't worry." Kirby reassured. "By the way, got any chocolate left in there?"

"_Jigglypuff..._" (Oh brother...)

**------------------------------------------**

"Find any tracks?" Samus asked, leaning over her fellow bounty hunter.

Captain Falcon, kneeling in the snow near the roots of a tree, shook his head. "The snow's too fresh. And my knees are _freezing_." He stood up, wiping the powdery snow from his pants although some of it had melted, creating two dark spots on his knees. "Where are the swordsmen?"

"They've gone ahead of us," she replied simply.

The sound of Link and Marth calling the boy's name answered Captain Falcon's question as well.

"NESS!! Where are you?!" Link called again.

He and Marth had their way into a small clearing, neatly surrounded by tall (and dead) trees that reached up to the heavens in a misshapen circle.

"Ness!!" Link shouted. "NESS!!"

He paused to catch his breath. The cold air was starting to sting his throat. The Hylian rubbed his neck tenderly, as though it would help soothe his pain. Then Link realized how quiet Marth had become.

"Marth?"

The silent prince stared up into the sky. Link also looked up and spotted what had caught Marth's attention.

A huge gray cloud now covered most of the sun, and snowflakes were starting to fall silently to the ground. A sharp, cool gust of wind cut against the bare skin on their faces.

"The blizzard..." Link stated. "But it wasn't supposed to hit for a few more hours...!"

"Marth!"

"Link!"

The sound of the bounty hunters calling their names broke Link's trance.

"We've got to get out of here," Link decided. "Marth, let's go."

He started to step out of the clearing, but stopped when he didn't hear the snow crunching beneath Marth's boots. The prince hadn't moved from his spot, now staring solemnly at the ground.

"Marth," Link addressed him, walking over to the prince. "The blizzard's coming, we've got to go back."

The prince still would not look at him. The Hylian gently held Marth's wrist to lead him along, but Marth did not budge.

"Marth!"

"I'm not going back." the prince replied sharply, despite his faint voice. "Not until I find him."

"Maybe someone else has found him!" Link tried to sound optimistic, but it was more like arguing with the prince. "Maybe Ness came back on his own! Or if he _is _still out there, maybe he's found shelter and he's all right!"

"Or, he's still out there, cold and afraid, lost and alone!" Marth replied.

Link noticed that the prince's voice had become fainter and had even cracked when he said 'afraid'. Marth's eyes were starting to shine, and his face was turning red.

"You don't know, he could even be..." the prince couldn't bring himself to say it.

Marth turned his back to Link and walked a few paces away, unwilling to let his close friend see him. He clutched his arms tightly against his body. Link saw the prince's shoulders shaking... but he could tell it wasn't shivering from the cold, especially when a small sob escaped the other swordsman.

"Marth..." Link's voice was softer now. He walked over in front of the prince. "We'll find him. And when we do, he'll be okay."

"Everyone tells me it's not my fault, but I still can't help but feel that way. If I had told him that it might take a while to train him..."

"I know I'm just repeating what everyone has told you, then... but Marth..." Link gently clutched the prince's shoulders. The prince's cerulean eyes met with Link's sapphire eyes. "_It wasn't your fault_."

Marth gazed up into Link's soft eyes, unable to look away, as though it would take back everything Link had said. The prince finally knew it wasn't his fault. Even though everyone's mouths had told him the same thing, Marth now understood it was true because Link had told him with his _heart_.

"It's all right." Link assured him again. He could tell that he had gotten through to Marth.

The prince smiled, although a tear managed to leak halfway down his face.

Link shifted a hand out of his rough, woolen glove. He watched his hand move, almost as if it had a mind of its own. He stopped it, holding his hand up in the air in front of him, questioning what it was doing, and if it was all right.

Yes, it was.

Link slowly reached out and gently rested his fingers against Marth's cheek. The prince released a slow, soft breath, visible in the cold air. Link gently shifted his thumb to brush away the tear, feeling Marth's soft skin underneath his touch. Link's head tilted down as Marth's face tilted upwards, their eyes meeting again... this time, in a softer gaze.

Now it felt like his head wanted to move forward, to...

Link blushed.

Was it all right?

The Hylian searched the prince's expression. There was no trace of fear or confusion in his eyes; rather, he appeared to be waiting for something.

Yes, it was.

Link started to lean forward, still watching Marth.

The prince closed his eyes as a lovely tint of red filled his cheeks. His expression softened as he placed his hands against the front of Link's shoulders.

The Hylian placed his other hand against the small of the prince's back, pulling him closer. Link closed his eyes, and closed the distance between them.

Soft as a feather, Link's lips brushed against Marth's. He gently pressed into the kiss a little more, then moved down to kiss Marth's bottom lip. His lips were so delicate, much softer than Link had expected. Nothing could end this moment. Nothing could -

"Guys! Where are you?!" Samus shouted, her voice notably louder this time.

Link and Marth pulled away from each other, startled by the bounty huntress's voice. Samus and Captain Falcon came running up to the two swordsmen. Much to their relief, they apparently hadn't seen anything.

"Haven't you noticed the weather?" Captain Falcon asked. "We need to head back now, before the blizzard really hits us hard!"

"Right. Uh, right." Link replied. "We're... uh, right behind you!"

Samus and Captain Falcon turned around and started to jog back in the direction of the Suites. Before Link could start to run, Marth slipped his hand into Link's. The Hylian smiled and squeezed the prince's hand affectionately before they chased after the bounty hunters.

**--------------------------------------------------------**

All the teams returned safely to the Suites by three that afternoon. Malon and Diddy had thought ahead, and had plenty of hot chocolate prepared for when the fighters had returned. Spike and Alice were now distributing the mugs to all the fighters in the cafeteria, as Ruby passed out extra blankets for everyone.

"No luck, eh?" Spike asked sadly.

"Afraid not," Peach replied. "Too much fresh snow. We couldn't track him. It also got too cold for Yoshi to handle, so I had to help him come back early. Falco says the same thing happened to Bowser too."

**------------**

Marth had returned to his room, calling along Luigi, Captain Falcon, Samus, Pikachu, Zelda, Roy, Fox, Popo, Nana, and of course Link. It was pretty crowded to say the least.

"Okay, what did you want to see us about?" Samus asked, a little bit of impatience in her voice.

"Look, I'm sorry we were so slow, okay?" Marth replied, detecting her tone. "I just want you guys to see something."

Marth bent over and pulled a small box from underneath his bed. "I know we're supposed to keep our Secret Santas a 'secret', but I really wanted to do this..."

Marth removed the lid so everyone in the room could see the present inside. Inside the box was a brand new baseball bat, freshly sanded, along with a permanent marker.

"... You got Ness, didn't you?" Link asked.

Marth nodded. "I started training with him because I wanted his first victory to be my gift to him... but I also decided to get him something 'material', so we wouldn't look awkward when we exchange gifts."

Marth lifted the bat out of the box as well as the marker.

"I thought it'd be nice if we would all sign it." the prince explained with a smile. He signed his name on the bat before passing it to Samus. Everyone passed it around the room, signing it. When it was Pikachu's turn, Luigi gently took the Poke'mon's paw and colored it darkly with the marker, then pressed it firmly against the bat, leaving a small pawprint. Luigi then wrote Pikachu's name by the print.

Marth took the bat back after Fox had finished signing it, and returned it to the box.

"Okay, that's all I really wanted. Let's go downstairs before the hot chocolate gets cold!"

Everyone in the crowded room agreed and dashed outside.

**------------------------------------------------**

The lights dimmed briefly, then returned to normal power.

"We better not have a blackout." Bowser stated angrily. "If the heat goes out..."

"What? What'll happen if the heat goes out?" Kirby asked.

"Well-a, obviously it'll be very-a cold," Dr. Mario explained with a chuckle. "But this is-a especially bad for Bowser and Yoshi, since-a they're cold-blooded reptiles. It means-a they can't produce their own-a body heat. They'd-a go into hibernation... a really long-a sleep, before you ask-a."

Marth and Link sat alone together at a table.

"I can't believe that nobody was able to find any trace of Ness," Link admitted solemnly.

"And to think, _you _were the one telling _me_ not to give up, and now _I _have to say the same thing to _you_." Marth sighed, pausing to take a sip of his hot chocolate. "Maybe there won't be a blizzard tomorrow, and maybe we can spend the entire day looking for him."

Link was about to reply, when Master Hand came into the room and stepped forward to the stage to make an announcement.

"Well, look who it is," Captain Falcon grumbled, taking a seat beside Link.

"I see you weren't able to find Ness," Master stated, as if he _knew_ that the fighters would be unsuccessful. "Now that the blizzard has hit, no one is permitted to leave the Suites. And once the blizzard passes, the search for Ness will be called off."

"_What?!_" Marth exclaimed, practically jumping out of his seat. "_You can't do that!_"

"It will be futile. There's no way Ness could survive a blizzard like this. I hate to say it... but the kid's probably already dead." Master declared grimly. "That is all."

**-----------------------------------------------------**

After dinner was done, Marth was on his way back to his room when he passed by Ness's room.

... The door was ajar.

A brief wave of hope swept over Marth, but it ended when he saw Peach sitting in the boy's room, holding one of his baseball caps in her hands.

"It's just so sad," she sighed in a soft voice. "Ness was so young and innocent... no one, especially a child like him, deserves to have that happen to them..."

Already, people were starting to give up hope. Link had given Marth hope Ness was still alive.

Now Marth was going to give everyone hope.

He turned around and went back into the cafeteria, asking Ruby for all the packaged energy bars she had. She was surprised by his request, but still gave him all eight of them. Carrying the bundle in his arms, he dashed back through the hallway, up to the second floor, to the third floor, back to his room. Marth browsed through his closet, find a few extra layers of clothes, and placed them in a pile on his bed.

All he could do now was wait, he thought, turning on the TV

Several hours passed, and it was now close to midnight.

Marth pulled the extra clothes on and stuffed the energy bars into the pockets in his pants and on his jacket. He slipped out the door silently, down the three floors, and over to the entrance to the Battle Royale Suites.

For a "lockdown", Marth was surprised to find the door was still unlocked. He opened and closed it quickly and silently, then headed north again to try and find his younger friend.

**---------------------------------------------**

The next morning, everyone was relieved to see the blizzard had ended, and a beautiful layer of white snow covered everything. Then their relief was replaced with sorrow, remembering that they weren't allowed to search for Ness anymore.

When Link awakened and left his room, he was surprised to find Marth had left his door open.

"Marth?" he asked, calling for the prince. He peered into the room, only to find it was empty.

He stepped inside, calling for his friend once again. At that moment, Link spotted a note on the pillow. The front of it read "_For Link's Eyes Only_". Link unfolded it quickly and started reading, suddenly feeling concerned. There appeared to be a few spots on the inside of the letter where a few drops of liquid had dried.

Water? No.

These were likely tears.

_Link..._

_I can't let one of my friends die out there when I know I can do something to stop this. I'm not returning to the Suites until I find Ness._

_I'm sorry, but this is how things have to be._

_Thanks to your assurance, I believe - no, I KNOW - Ness is still alive. _

_I have no regrets about the time we shared yesterday._

_- Marth_

"No..." Link whispered, letting the note drop limply from his hand. "He... he can't be... he couldn't have..."

He dashed out of Marth's room, running down the stairs, down the hallways, straight to the cafeteria.

He burst through the doors just in time to hear Master making another announcement.

"... against our orders. Marth has also run away."

**-------------------------------------------------**

**bijoukaiba: Surprised to see me? Well, even though this chapter was very short, this has probably been one of my favorite chapters to write as well (dreamy sigh). As the author, I wanted the honors of making the closing. (makes an actually upset sigh) Oh, Marth! Why'd you have to go be a hero?! This chapter seemed so romantic and then you go and... GAAAHH!! You made everything so sad and serious! I have a feeling this chapter probably feels a little rushed... What's interesting is I didn't intend for that scene to happen. It was supposed to be a simple hug, but then I started thinking... and that was the final result. (smiles) Makes things a lot more dramatic and romantic, huh? **


	17. Hero

**Captain Falcon: How's everyone doing today?**

**Samus: We're already on the SEVENTEENTH chapter of Swordplay.**

**Captain Falcon: It's sort of hard to believe. These last few ones have been going by so quickly...**

**Samus: Let's see... back in April we were waiting for Chapter 13 to be loaded. Maybe the recent updates haven't been so bad.**

**Captain Falcon: The author's writing style has started to change, too. She's starting to write more seriously lately.**

**Samus: You don't suppose she'll cancel our hosting job, do you? (glances at reader)**

**Captain Falcon: Uhh, let's worry about that later. Guest speaker, do your stuff!**

**Luigi: Okey-dokey! _The author claims-a no ownership of Nintendo, Super Smash Bros. Melee, or-a any related characters and their-a franchises._**

**Samus: Apparently, the readers were really excited about something that happened to Link and Marth last chapter... but I don't remember seeing anything happen to them...**

**----------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 17: Hero**

No.

No, it couldn't be.

Master made a mistake. Maybe the note was a lie, or a riddle of some sort?

But as Link stood there, his eyes scanning the room among the surprised faces staring at him for the prince who would have waved him over to sit down, he realized it was true.

Marth was gone.

He didn't say a word to anyone; Link turned around and immediately ran down the hallway, back up the stairs, back up to his room. He grabbed his jacket, ran back down the stairs, and slipped it on as he ran outside.

"MARTH!" the Hylian yelled.

He ran north, back through the forest, like the previous day.

"MARTH!!" he screamed again.

He pushed his way through some bushes, running as fast as his legs would take him - possibly even faster than they could handle.

"MARTH!!! MAR-" the Hylian tried to scream again, but his throat had become so raw that he ended up coughing.

He tripped over a root, falling face first in the snow. His bare hands stung against the cold crystals. He tried to catch his breath, before standing up again, ready to run.

At that moment, someone grabbed him from behind.

Link had barely begun to mouth the prince's name...

When Zelda spun him around to face her.

"Link! What are you doing?" she asked.

"We have to find... Marth..." he panted, his voice hoarse.

"I agree that we have to find him... and Ness as well! But you should've at least stayed for breakfast! You'll quickly run out of energy if you don't get something to eat!"

"The sooner we find him... the better..." Link argued, his breathing slowing down to a normal rate.

"Just listen to you," she said. "Your throat's becoming raw!"

The princess gently held onto Link's arm, leading him back to the Suites.

"Get something to eat and have a warm drink. We'll figure out what to do after that." Zelda told him.

Link finally moved his legs, begrudgingly following her back to the Suites.

**-----------------------------------------------**

The Hero of Time returned to the Suites for a small bowl of cinnamon oatmeal and a glass of hot tea. Much to his dismay, Zelda also had Link head up to the third floor to have Dr. Mario check on his throat.

"Okey-dokey, say 'Aah', please-a," the doctor commanded.

Following the doctor's orders, Link opened his mouth to allow the doctor to place a tongue depressor into his mouth and examine his throat with a small light.

"Well-a... that's not-a good..." Dr. Mario commented. "Your-a throat has turned a serious red-a color. There's-a no infection, but you ought to rest-a your voice for a few days."

"What?!" Link rasped, "But I need my voice! How else can I-" Before Link could finish, he was caught in a coughing fit.

"... call for-a your friend? You and-a Marth both have other friends. Get-a them to call for him. In the meantime-a, drink a lot of fluids, particularly warm-a ones. Try and get-a more sleep at night, and adding some-a Vitamin C to your diet would-a help too."

Link appeared confused.

"I'll put it-a this way... try and have an orange-a with your breakfast everyday for the next-a, say, three days... then see if-a you feel better."

"Thanks," Link replied, though he appeared disappointed with what the doctor had told him.

He left the office with Zelda at his side. Since they were already on the third floor, he walked straight into his room and flopped onto the bed.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Following the doctor's orders." he replied hoarsely, turning his head so his face was flat against his pillow.

"Oh, stop it," Zelda teased as Link coughed a little. "I'll go get Captain Falcon and Fox to look for Marth for a while, okay?"

Link grunted something against his pillow, but Zelda figured it was probably an "Okay." She left his room and went down to the cafeteria, to check for her friends.

She conveniently found the Captain, Fox, and Falco having a discussion with Roy, likely about futuristic technology.

"Excuse me," the princess politely intervened. "May I speak with you two for a minute?" she pointed to the bounty hunter and the vulpine pilot.

"You can explain things, Falco," Fox commented to his friend as he left the table with Captain Falcon.

Zelda led them upstairs to their rooms, explaining what had happened on the way. As she waited outside Fox's room, Captain Falcon commented to her, "You didn't really need to ask. I was planning to form a search party and head out this afternoon. But I don't mind heading out now."

Fox emerged from his room, clad in his white jacket. After Captain Falcon went upstairs to get his black jacket, the three of them went outside. The skies were clear this morning, and the wind wasn't as brisk today.

"MARTH!" the trio shouted, pausing for a moment to listen for a response.

"Maybe Master was right. Maybe this is just a waste of time." Fox sighed.

"You better not be giving up already! I'll admit, the chances of finding Ness aren't very good. But Marth's only been gone a few hours, we might still have a chance!" Zelda scolded him.

"MARTH!!" Captain Falcon called again.

The three of them paused silently for a moment.

"_Captain..._" responded a weak shout on the horizon.

Zelda and Fox exchanged a surprised look, then chased after Captain Falcon as he rushed to the source of the voice.

"Marth!!" Captain Falcon called again, running towards the northwestern part of the forest.

The prince emerged from the woods, looking slightly hunched over, as though he was carrying something on his back.

Could it be?

"Captain..." Marth panted weakly, a small smile on his face, walking towards him. "Ness... still alive... I'm... very tired... my side... hurts... doctor..."

By the time Captain Falcon made it over to the prince, he passed out, falling against the bounty hunter.

"I don't believe it," Fox marveled, lifting Ness off the prince's back and into his arms. "You found him! Marth, you're a hero! Marth... Marth?"

Captain Falcon shifted the prince's limp form to place an arm under his knees and lift him for better control.

"I don't think he'll be talking for a few hours," Captain Falcon told the pilot. "Zelda, get the doors for us!"

She led the way for the bounty hunter and pilot, opening the entrance for them. The commotion started to stir up the crowd of fighters that had been hanging out in the cafeteria.

"Captain Falcon! Fox! Zelda! What happened?"

"You found-a them?"

"Is that... Marth?"

"Hur, Shi hup arara!" (Look, Ness is with them too!)

"You don't suppose they're... dead, do you?"

The crowd almost started to follow them upstairs, but Peach, Falco, and Mario blocked them off, not wanting their progress to be slowed by a crowd of people throwing frenzied questions at them.

Link lifted his head when he heard what sounded like a stampede in the hallway. Then he heard voices.

"Thank you, Princess."

"Doctor Mario! Are you in there?"

That was Captain Falcon. And Fox.

_I'll go get Captain Falcon and Fox to look for Marth for a while, okay?_

Link shot up out of bed and burst through the door, sprinting across the hallway into the medical room.

"Marth?!" the Hylian gasped.

Captain Falcon, Zelda, Fox, and Dr. Mario glanced up at the Hero. Dr. Mario said something to Fox, who went and pushed the call button for the nurse.

He walked over to the bed that Zelda and Captain Falcon were standing by.

"He just got here," Zelda told her dear friend. "Don't worry, he'll be all right."

Marth was now sleeping in one of the hospital beds, still wearing his jacket. His skin was pale from being in the cold for so long, and a few lines underneath his eyes suggested that he had gone without sleep for a while. Nevertheless, the prince appeared to be resting peacefully. It brought a smile to Link's face; it reminded him of when he saw Marth for the first time. To think, it had only been a few months ago...

"Then, the other one..."

"Yeah, it's Ness," Fox confirmed as Nurse Joy walked in the door carrying two sets of pajamas.

"Excuse me," Joy commented, walking over. "We're going to change Marth and Ness's clothes so they'll be warmer. To protect their rights to privacy, I have to ask you to leave for a little bit. When we're done, you're welcome to come back in."

The four fighters left the room without any arguments whatsoever, but still stood outside the door awaiting permission to return.

Dr. Mario carefully removed Marth's jacket and the coat underneath. Upon preparing to remove Marth's blue tunic, his brow furrowed in concern.

"Nurse... are-a you finished?"

Joy finished buttoning Ness's blue pajama top, then walked over to the doctor. Dr. Mario didn't even have to say anything; she gasped in surprise when she spotted the small blood stains on the prince's tunic. Dr. Mario carefully pulled the tunic back, revealing three thin but long gash marks along the side of Marth's torso.

"Nurse Joy, please get-a me some antiseptic medicine and a roll of-a bandages," he ordered, putting on a pair of gloves.

The pink-haired nurse bustled over to the medicine cabinet, pushing aside a bottle of Emotion Elixir to reach a bottle of clear liquid as well as some cotton swabs. She also grabbed the bandages from the shelf below it. She quickly walked back to the doctor, handing him the supplies. Dr. Mario tilted the bottle of antiseptic medicine, placing a swab against the mouth of the bottle, then carefully applied it to one of the gash marks in Marth's side. He tossed the swab into the trash, before repeating the process with two more swabs on Marth's other two wounds. With Joy's help, he then proceeded to wrap the bandages around Marth's torso. He removed the tunic and redressed the prince in his light blue pajamas, then removed the gloves and went to wash his hands.

After Joy washed her hands, she went to the door to inform Marth's friends it was all right to return. Sure enough, all four of them were still waiting there. They went in eagerly, almost as if they expected the prince and the younger boy to be awake. But they weren't; both Ness and Marth were resting.

"Come back a little later," Joy suggested. "Marth will likely be up in a few hours. As for Ness, I'm not sure... but he should definitely be up tomorrow morning, or tonight if we're lucky."

Disappointed, the four fighters left the room. Samus was waiting outside for them.

"Everything all right?" she asked.

Captain Falcon nodded and replied, "Marth found Ness. But _we_ found Marth."

**---------------------------------------------**

Three hours passed from the "exciting" rescue mission. At lunch, Roy made a toast to Captain Falcon, Fox, Zelda, and to Marth, although he wasn't present. After lunch, Link slipped away from the cafeteria back up to the medical room. For the past three hours, he had been coming in every hour to check on Marth for fifteen minutes. Joy and Dr. Mario were respectful and left him alone in the room, even though he didn't do anything or engage in conversation with the prince.

He returned now, still waiting for a sign from the prince. Sure, his skin color had returned to normal. But Link wanted to see Marth move, to hear him make a noise. He reached down and gently let his fingertips stroke Marth's forehead, brushing his bangs aside. His fingers glided down the prince's temple, down to his cheek. That simple touch reminded him so much of...

Marth let out a long breath that slowly became a yawn. Link pulled his hand back quickly as the prince stretched out in bed, his eyes fluttering open.

"Mmmm... I must've passed out... good nap, though..." he turned his head to the side. "Oh, hi, Link."

He blinked, then sat up with a huge smile on his face.

"Link!"

The Hylian laughed and embraced his friend. When they pulled away, Marth became quieter.

"I'm sorry if I worried you..."

Link's face fell.

"You really did, you know. I thought I would never see you again. I thought I had lost you."

"... But I had to do it. I couldn't just leave him out there. If it had been you, I would have done the same thing."

"I know. I'll admit, I would have probably done the same thing for you too. Just... tell someone next time, okay?"

Marth nodded. Both the Hero and the prince were now silent in each other's presence. Alone, together, just the two of them.

"So..." Marth started softly. "About my note..."

"You want-a some company, Link?" Luigi stepped into the doorway. "... Hey, Marth! Welcome-a back!"

"Hi, Luigi," Marth chuckled as the plumber pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Nice to have-a you back again! Losing Ness was-a bad enough, we can't lose-a you!"

"But we didn't lose Ness... Marth found him - still alive - and brought him back. He's resting in the bed behind you." Link told him.

Luigi turned around and saw the boy sleeping in bed behind him, but didn't comment. He turned around and said to Marth, "Say, we've-a gotta tell your friends about-a this! Want me to get-a Captain Falcon for you? Or-a maybe Samus? Zelda?"

Marth shook his head. "No, thanks. It was really nice to see you two again, but I've only been awake for a few minutes. I'd like to maybe get a little more rest. You can tell Dr. Mario and Nurse Joy, though."

Link and Luigi exchanged a glance, then looked back down at Marth.

"Sure, we'll tell them,"

"Get-a some rest. Maybe you'll-a feel better by dinner time?"

Marth smiled up at them. "Maybe."

He snuggled into his pillow and pulled the covers up to his chin as his fellow fighters left the medical bay.

**------------------------------------**

He slowly awakened that evening, a bit unsure of his surroundings, but then recognized the medical bay. He had been here before. He heard voices behind him. At first, he wanted to turn around and say something... but he decided to listen instead.

"I'm so glad you're all right," said a voice... Zelda.

"That was a very brave thing you did. A bit foolish, but still... it was very brave." That voice belonged to Captain Falcon.

"T-thank you," came a modest reply.

_Marth?_

Ness gasped, but quickly closed his mouth and eyes, pretending to still be resting. No voices remarked about the soft noise, but there was a brief pause.

"Now we just have to wait for Ness to wake up," commented Samus.

Marth nodded in reply, taking a bite from his turkey sandwich.

"So... what happened out there, anyway?" Captain Falcon asked.

The prince wiped a little bit of mustard from his mouth before relating his story.

**----------**

_**Flashback**_

_Marth trudged through the thick snow, wind stinging his face. His legs cramped, tired, numb, and yet so full of pain. It was as if he had become a mindless creature whose only purpose in life was to walk in a straight line. He had been walking like this for several hours. Darkness surrounded him in the night, and the blizzard made it impossible for him to see the moon or any stars._

_Slosh-crunch. Slosh-crunch. His boots shoved their way through the snow._

_He almost regretted it now. Maybe, instead of trying to save a friend, he was slowly killing himself instead. No, that wasn't right. What Link had said to him... he knew Ness was still alive. After what happened that afternoon..._

_Marth's cheeks turned red, but this wasn't a reaction to the cold weather._

_Link had given him hope. He was going to give everyone hope._

_Marth looked up, facing the expanse of trees before him. Surely, there had to be a sign of the boy. Surely, there had to be a sign of hope. He looked on the ground, hoping for footprints or a dropped item._

_Nothing._

_The prince glanced up just in time to avoid walking into a tree branch. He had to be a bit more careful with where he was walking..._

_He trudged along further, perhaps for another thirty minutes, before deciding he needed a break. He spotted a coniferous tree and crawled underneath it, giving his legs a rest. Marth brushed aside a few needles; there were only fresh, new ones here._

_He paused for a moment._

_Shouldn't there have also been some older tree needles as well? Nobody else would have interest in gathering old, dry pine needles..._

_... unless they were building a fire...!_

_Marth spotted something beside his mitten... a folded slip of paper. He unfolded it and saw only one word inside- "Bowser"_

_Yes, it had to mean Ness had been here before!_

_Marth was filled with excitement. Suddenly, his legs didn't seem to hurt so much anymore._

_He crawled out from underneath the tree and ran forward, willing his legs through the snow._

_Running._

_Running._

_Running._

_He spotted a stream of smoke further ahead, as the trees started to thin out._

_Marth shouted for his younger friend. "Ne-"_

_He was cut off, however, when his foot slipped and he rolled down the edge of a rocky hill. The prince landed in a heap of snow and dirt at the bottom. His head was fine, but..._

_Marth clutched the side of his body, feeling pain throbbing in his torso._

_"It's just a bruise,"_ _he told himself, trying to verbally soothe the pain. He lifted himself from the ground, and spotted a pile of wood and pine needles, burning just enough to create smoke. It had probably been built in a desperate attempt to stay warm._

_Sure enough, right by the dimly lit fire, a small body slightly covered with snow was lying near it._

_"Ness!" Marth gasped. He crawled over and brushed the snow off the younger boy's jacket and face. His skin was incredibly pale, and when Marth placed a bare hand against the boys neck to check for a sign of life, his skin felt like ice. Much to his relief, there was still a pulse._

_"You're still alive," Marth said, hugging the young boy close to his body to try to warm him up. He sat there for a few minutes, clutching the young boy, until he decided he needed to get him a doctor as soon as possible. Carefully placing Ness against his back, in a 'piggyback' sort of way, he climbed back over the rocky hill, ignoring the pain in his side, and started his journey back to the Battle Royale Suites._

_**End of Flashback**_

"... After that, I just kept on walking until it was morning. The last thing I really remember after that was Captain Falcon calling for me, and seeing Fox and Zelda as well before I passed out." Marth concluded.

"You're both very lucky to be alive," Samus stated.

"Oh, and as for my side," Marth added, pulling up part of his pajamas to show off his 'battle scars', "Dr. Mario explained that I actually cut myself on the rocks, rather than just getting a bruise."

"... Neat." Captain Falcon complimented sarcastically, after Marth had shared 'too much information'.

Ness stared over at the wall, shocked by the story Marth had shared.

_He did that... for me? After what I said to him..._

At that moment, the doorway opened to the medical bay, and Ness quickly shut his eyes again.

Fox McCloud stormed in, apparently unhappy with something.

"Something wrong?" Zelda asked.

"Sorry about my mood. I'm glad you're all right, Marth." the pilot responded.

"Thanks," Marth said with a smile. "Now... what's troubling you?"

"Master," Fox snorted. "He sent me to get you, Captain Falcon. We're in trouble."

"What?!" Captain Falcon exclaimed, standing up. "For what?"

"Apparently, just like for Ness, we weren't supposed to go out and search for Marth."

"That's ridiculous!" Zelda complained. "Everything was perfectly safe today! And why does he have to pick on you two? Link and I went to search for Marth as well!"

"He decided that since Link 'came back' so quickly, he would let him off with a warning," Fox explained, then blushed. "And as for me... well, I agreed to take your share of the punishment. He also said that because Marth is recovering from an injury, he wouldn't punish him for searching for Ness."

"If you'll excuse me..." Captain Falcon said to his friends, "Apparently, I have some business to attend to."

"As do I," Zelda put in. "That was very sweet of you, Fox, but I'll just take whatever punishment they throw at me."

The three of them left the room together, leaving only Samus and Link with the prince.

"What do you think'll happen to them?" Marth asked Link.

"Hard to say. I can't really think of anything Master could do to punish them." Link commented.

"I hope everything will be all right. Everything's been so hectic the past few days..." Marth sighed leaning against his pillow. "Maybe Ness will be up tomorrow..."

"You still seem a bit tired. We'll let you get a good night's sleep. Hope you feel better tomorrow." Samus said to the prince. She exchanged a look with Link, then both of them stood up and left the medical room.

Ness started to consider saying something now, but the room suddenly turned dark. Marth was apparently trying to sleep, and Ness decided a little more rest wouldn't hurt either.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------**

Night faded away into a gray morning the next day. Marth's eyes fluttered open, the window catching his eye. Snow was cascading from the clouds, and the panes in the med bay had frosted over slightly.

Marth sat up on his side at a low angle, rubbing an eye with his wrist. His mouth hung open as he yawned sleepily. Perhaps five more minutes wouldn't...

"... Marth?"

The prince practically did a barrel roll in bed; not because he was surprised to hear his name, but _who _had called it.

"Ness, you're awake!" Marth gasped, a smile on his face. He started to climb out of bed, but was stopped when Ness started talking again in a rushed manner.

"I'm so sorry for everything! I heard what happened last night, and I... you shouldn't have gone through all of that for me... why did you? I didn't deserve it after what I said to you... and I'm sorry for that too!"

"Ness, Ness..." the prince held up his hands, trying to calm the younger boy down. "... calm down. It's okay. I was upset about you running away... and I still am a little hurt by that. But it's not _because_ I had to go find you, it's the fact that you ran away that made me so worried. And I know you didn't mean what you said. Sometimes we say and do things we don't mean to when we're upset."

"I'm still sorry," Ness apologized.

"It's all right. I forgive you," the prince replied. "And, if you'd like, I'd be glad to continue training with you when we're released."

"Would I!" Ness exclaimed loudly. "I mean... okay. That'd be great!"

"I thought I recognized that yell," said a voice.

"Captain Falcon!" Marth exclaimed, recognizing the man as he entered with additional company. "Link! Samus!"

"And don't-a forget _Doctor-a_ Mario!" added the doctor as he walked in. "I'm-a surprised to see you in such good-a condition, Ness."

The male bounty hunter walked into the room carrying a tray with two mugs. He set it down on a bedside table.

"I brought you guys some hot chocolate," he explained as he removed his hands from the tray.

"Before-a you drink any-a, though, I have-a to take your temperatures. Vital-a signs, you know," Dr. Mario explained, pulling the thermometer and sanitary covers from a cabinet. After measuring and recording Marth and Ness's temperatures, he gave a nod to the racer to let him know it was all right.

"Be careful, it's a bit hot. You might want to blow on it a little before you take a sip," he cautioned as the doctor removed a hand from Ness's wrist, finished taking his pulse.

Marth and Ness nodded, releasing a small breath against the surface of the beverages, before lifting them to their mouths.

"What do you think?" Captain Falcon asked.

Ness and Marth both had unpleasant expressions on their faces.

"Ugh, I think Ruby needs a new recipe!" Ness groaned.

"Tastes really watered down," Marth stated.

Captain Falcon frowned as Link and Samus shook with quiet laughter, and even Dr. Mario had to hide a grin. "... I decided to try and do something nice, and made the hot chocolate myself..." he muttered.

"Oh..." Marth said awkwardly. "Well... um... it was very thoughtful of you! Maybe you should ask Ruby for a little advice. Perhaps you could've added more milk?"

"Excellent! Excellent-a!" Dr. Mario rejoiced, removing the sphygmomanometer **(1) **from Ness's arm. "You've made an excellent-a recovery, my boy!"

"Okay... thanks..." Ness replied.

"The same-a for you, Marth. You're-a both fit to return to the Suites-a to continue living normally."

"Wonderful!" Marth responded, pulling the covers off of him. Ness repeated suit, stretching as he stood up out of bed.

All six fighters, including the doctor, left the med bay.

"By the way, Captain..." Marth whispered in a hushed tone. "... what was that 'punishment' Master talked about?"

The bounty hunter frowned.

"We're being grounded," he muttered.

"Does it hurt?" Marth asked, concern in his eyes.

"No, not at all. It's just... boring. Fox, Zelda, and I will be confined to our rooms during the weekend, and we'll have our meals brought to us. We aren't allowed to let guests in, and we're not allowed to leave unless we have to bathe or if we get sick."

"It does sound boring," Marth agreed with a sigh.

"I'll be right back, guys!" Ness called, catching their attention. "I'm going downstairs to get changed."

Marth glanced down at his pajamas. "Yes, I could probably stand to change my clothes."

"Just don't forget to grab your presents," Samus commented, turning to head upstairs. "From what I've heard, we're exchanging gifts today."

**-------------------------------------------------**

**Captain Falcon: We're getting much better with updates!**

**Samus: This chapter was longer than the last few, and we actually put it up after three weeks, rather than having the readers wait three MONTHS.**

**Captain Falcon: So, who got who for Secret Santa? (grins)**

**Samus: (rolls her eyes) I have a feeling I know who...**

**Captain Falcon: Thank you for reading!**

**Samus: Hmm, interesting. The author says she's looking forward to writing the next chapter...**

**Captain Falcon: She always says that.**

**Samus: Yes, but something about her seems _different _this time...**


	18. We Have A Winner

**Captain Falcon: (yawns) You awake?**

**Samus: (nods groggily) Yep. I can't believe she started writing this chapter at 11 at night...**

**Captain Falcon: (shakes off sleepiness) Well, she did say this was going to be an exciting chapter... something must have really electrified her inspiration...**

**Samus: (mumbles incoherently) I'll go wake up somebody to do the disclaimer...**

**Nana: (cute little yawn) _The author claims no ownership of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendo, or any of its related characters or their respective franchises._(goes back to room)**

**Captain Falcon: We're just exchanging gifts... what could be so excit... (blinks then gasps) Um, Samus...? You might want to see this...**

**Samus: What? What's so... (looks down) Oh. Oh, wow...**

**--------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 18: We Have a Winner**

Marth stepped out of his room, now clad in more casual attire for the day- a blue sweater and denim jeans- but also with a box under his arm, neatly wrapped in green paper with a fancy blue ribbon.

"Excited?" asked Captain Falcon. He certainly appeared excited, with a huge smile on his face.

Marth nodded as Link stepped out of his room carrying a box wrapped in blue paper with a simple green bow.

"I wonder who got my name?" Marth commented to his friends as they headed down to the cafeteria- with a little extra speed.

"I don't know," the bounty hunter replied. "I suppose you'll have to wait and find out!"

The three of them took their usual seats with Samus, but a table consisting of Fox, Luigi, Zelda, and Ness had been pulled up closer to theirs.

"Good morning, fighters!" Master greeted. He appeared much more pleasant this morning, considering that the holidays had finally arrived. "I know how much you've all been awaiting this morning, so I thought we'd exchange gifts before eating breakfast. That should also give Ruby some extra time to prepare meals for everyone. Crazy, you were more involved with this, you start the ceremony."

"All right!" Crazy cheered, stepping forward. He was dressed in a red business suit with matching pants, and wore a white shirt underneath his suit. What really stood out was his green tie with small lights that flashed repeatedly (and quite annoyingly).

"I know he's just trying to have fun," Marth commented to Samus, sitting next to him, "But that outfit of his is so tacky."

Samus smirked as she watched Crazy adjust the microphone. Master mysteriously left the stage and then the building after that. Captain Falcon was suspicious and almost thought to follow him, but decided to give him a benefit of a doubt... only because it was a holiday.

"Since Ruby has to make everyone's breakfast, I think it'd be easiest if she gave her present first," Crazy explained, turning to the chef. She was clad in a green dress underneath her off-white apron.

She picked up a blue box from behind the cafeteria line and walked amongst the fighters, looking for her 'Secret Santa', until at last she spotted him.

"... Happy holidays, Roy," she commented as she handed it to him. He held it in his hands for a moment, looking at it, until Mario gave him a gentle nudge with his elbow.

"Go on! Open-a it!" he encouraged.

Roy ripped the paper off and opened the box, to find a plastic bag inside... filled with dried meat. Beef jerky, to be more precise. Roy removed a piece from the bag and started chewing on it.

"Oh, wow!" he remarked with his mouth full. "Id's preddy spicy! Bud id's really good! Fanks!"

Ruby chuckled with a small bow, before returning to the cafeteria to prepare food for the awaiting fighters.

"We'll follow a sort of chain pattern, so we don't accidentally call anyone up twice or forget anyone. So that means it's Roy's turn to give a gift," Crazy explained further.

Roy swallowed the bite in his mouth, his face turning red... and it wasn't from the spicy meat. He picked up his small box with one hand and walked over to the beverage bar.

"I... I got this for you, Miss Malon," he said, handing her a purple-wrapped box with a red bow.

She unwrapped it and found a cute charm bracelet inside, made with beads that resembled cowbells... upon removing it, she heard a soft jingling sound and realized some of them actually were small bells.

"I love it," she commented, slipping it onto her wrist. "Thank you SO much, Roy!"

She gave him a quick hug before he returned to his seat, appearing slightly sheepish.

Malon didn't need any explaining, she knew exactly where to go and whom to give her present to.

"Happy holidays, Link!" she cheered, giving him a fairly flat box with blue paper.

He unwrapped it and found a picture frame, as well as a few fishing lures, included inside the box.

He thanked her and then noticed a note on the back of the picture frame.

_Just in case you want any pictures of a certain 'close friend' of yours._

_- Malon_

Link blushed and tucked the note away into a pocket on his tunic.

"What'd it say?" Marth asked.

"... N... Nothing..." the Hylian replied. He picked up his present, but didn't have to walk far to find Mario and present him with a set of new khaki overalls, complete with brass buttons that bore the emblem of the Triforce on them.

Mario went next, giving a red box with blue ribbon to Zelda.

"Ah, so you were the one lucky enough to draw her name..." Fox's voice trailed off as Zelda unwrapped her present to find a cute set of earrings shaped like the red and white Super Mushrooms.

"They're darling!" Zelda cooed, reaching over to hug Mario with one arm.

It was very interesting that Mario had drawn Zelda's name; for she had drawn Luigi's name and he was sitting right across the table from her. She gave him a knit hat made of soft green fibers.

"I was surprised to see this hat available in the gift catalogs," she commented to the plumber. "Last year, these were quite popular amongst members of the royal court in the winter."

"Very nice-a," he replied, removing his traditional green cap to try on his new one.

Luigi went next, presenting Peach with a set of pink golfballs and tennis balls.

"For-a your racket and club-a," he explained as she giggled.

After Luigi returned to his seat, Peach went up to present Popo with a set of new mittens and syrups of various fruit flavors, ideal for snow cones.

"Remember, you have to share!" Nana told her friend. He rolled his eyes and grinned up at Peach.

Popo's Secret Santa had turned out to be Donkey Kong. Inspired by the fact that Donkey Kong was always wearing a tie, he had gotten the large ape a set of scarves that featured the initials DK embroidered into them, just like on his ties.

"Thanks!" Donkey Kong grunted happily.

"My Secret Santa was Alice," he declared, carrying a long box over to the female dancer.

She appeared a little nervous at first, expecting a long rope or a bunch of bananas to be inside... instead, he had gotten her a set of five fruit-scented perfumes- in cherry, strawberry-banana, pineapple, blueberry, and raspberry.

"Th... thank you..." she finally said. She felt a little bit insecure about hugging him, but she at least patted his shoulder.

Spike glanced up at her, standing a few feet away. Her eyes met his, even though they were underneath a pair of glasses. He sighed and glanced back out at the other fighters. He could already tell by the look in her eyes that she hadn't gotten him.

Alice brought her gift over to Dr. Mario, a set of dancing shoes and a few bottles of medical lotions and creams, ideal for moisturizing skin to prevent blisters on the dance floor.

The doctor gave Pikachu a pack of vitamins made specifically for Poke'mon, perfect for promoting a shiny coat, a strong immunity, and simply good health overall.

Pikachu had gotten Nurse Joy for its Secret Santa, and gave her a brand new wristwatch.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed, slipping it on her wrist. "But how did you know?"

"Pika Pikachu chu pi ka chi pipichu, ka pi chuka chi chu pikapi," the electric Poke'mon explained. (Dr. Mario helped me read the magazine, but I didn't say who it was for,)

Now it was Joy's turn to give her present, and she carried box wrapped in pink paper over to Samus.

"You got my name?" Samus asked, glancing over at Captain Falcon in confusion.

"Yes," the nurse replied.

Samus opened her present and was delighted to find a new novel, Shall We Dance?, inside the box. She politely thanked Joy and waited for her to leave before she turned to Captain Falcon.

"I thought _you_ had my name!" she said to him.

Captain Falcon smiled and shook his head.

Rather than question him further, Samus gave her orange-wrapped present- an assemble-it-yourself model of a Chozo statue- to Diddy Kong. He appeared very excited and told her he couldn't wait to start building.

Diddy gave his special present to Falco, a baseball cap. Falco wasn't much of a hat person, but didn't tell Diddy, thanking him kindly.

Falco's gift exchange was very awkward, having Yoshi for a secret santa. Unsure of what to give him, he had ordered a few boxes of cookie mix. However, Yoshi appeared thrilled with his present, holding up the boxes and commenting (in his own unique language) on how he couldn't decide which recipe to try first.

Yoshi went next, glancing over at Malon. She nodded with a smile and winked at the creature. It was very curious to see Yoshi carrying a large stick with a little bit of string attached at the end.

"Yoshi, Shi, arara hup hur yo," (Okay, Spike, you have to close your eyes,) Yoshi ordered.

Although a bit confused, the dancer did as he was told. Yoshi pulled out a very small green-wrapped box and carefully opened it. Inside, there was a small green plant with what appeared to be white berries.

"What's with the plant?" Marth asked Samus.

"Oh, brother..." Samus laughed, shaking her head.

Yoshi tied the stem of the small plant to the end of the string.

"Can I open my eyes yet?" Spike asked.

"Hur hup!" (Not yet!) Yoshi ordered.

Malon then grabbed Alice by the shoulders and began to shove her forward roughly.

"Hey, what... Malon?!" the dancer questioned

"Yoshi! Hup!" (Okay! Now!)

He swung the branch forward so the string dangled right above Spike and Alice.

"I... I don't get it..." the dancer muttered.

"Oh..." Alice whispered, then looked up and blushed. "It's m... mistletoe..."

Spike blushed as well. "Oh..."

"Hur hup shi arara!" (You can't escape tradition!)

"Knock it off!" Malon groaned. "Stop being so shy! I know both of you like each other!"

Link didn't see it, but Malon also sent him a glance his way.

At last, Alice consented and leaned up on the tips of her toes to gently kiss Spike's cheek. A few 'awww's were heard amongst the fighters.

Finally, Spike also leaned down and gently pressed his lips to Alice's forehead. She blushed and smiled, wrapping her arms around him and placing her head against his shoulder. He placed his arms behind her shoulders and pulled her closer, leaning his chin against the top of her head.

"Thanks," Spike mouthed to Yoshi with a grin. The green dinosaur laughed softly and pulled the mistletoe away.

He finally let go of Alice, softly explaining that he had to give his present now. She nodded and smiled softly, releasing her tender hold on him. He held up a box with blue paper and walked over to the table of the familiar four.

"Have an awesome holiday, Captain," Spike said with a grin, awaiting the bounty hunter to unwrap his present.

Inside was a handsome black jacket, but when Captain Falcon turned it around he saw the words "Show me your moves!" embroidered on the back.

"It's awesome," the racer laughed. "Thanks, Spike."

The dancer nodded, returning to where he had been standing (and cuddling) with Alice.

The racer stood up, holding up his present inside a fairly flat box. It was wrapped in red paper and had a blue bow on top. Then, with that familiarly excited smile he'd had the same day he drew the name of his Secret Santa, he handed the box to the person sitting directly across from him at the table.

"Merry Chr... ahem, Happy Holidays, Marth,"

"For me?" the prince gasped in excitement. He gently placed the bow aside, then ripped the paper off the box, quite unlike his normally reserved nature. He opened the box and found a royal blue T-shirt inside, with the golden emblem of a falcon on the front of one shoulder, and the numbers '07' and the word 'FALCON' on the back.

"It's so cool!" Marth gasped, practically hugging the shirt. "It's got such nice color, and I've always been so interested in those car races of yours! It's wonderful!"

Captain Falcon laughed. "Well, I'm glad you like it!" _Personally, I'm glad he didn't ask about the Fire Stingray I mentioned when I was ill..._

"I guess it's my turn, then," Marth announced pleasantly. He gathered his box and went over to the boy sitting a few chairs down from him.

"I made this for you, Ness," the prince admitted shyly.

The younger boy opened the box and found a brand new baseball bat - signed by a lot of his friends, too! - inside.

"Whoa! You made this?" he asked, lifting it out of the box.

"Well, technically, I ordered it pre-carved... but I sanded it down smooth and got everyone to sign it," the prince explained. "Maybe it'll bring you good luck the next time you fight!"

"I'm not going to use it to fight, no. This is too special. But I'll keep it in my room. Who knows? Maybe it can bring me good luck from there..."

Marth returned to his seat beside Samus, surprised to find her practically _glaring_ over at Captain Falcon.

"What's that look for?" he asked, puzzled.

"I saw you looking straight at me when you pulled a name for the gift exchange," she replied. "I thought you had gotten my name!"

"Nope, you must have been sitting with Marth that day. I pulled his name, as you already know," he explained.

"I really thought you had gotten me something..." she said, folding her arms.

"Sorry, but I didn't. I didn't realize you'd be jealous-"

"I am NOT jealous," she stated defiantly, turning away from her fellow bounty hunter with a frown.

"Yeah, sure," Captain Falcon muttered sarcastically while Marth tried to suppress the urge to laugh.

Ness was up now, giving his present to Bowser.

"A cookbook?" Bowser groaned. "C'mon, you could've done better than that!"

But as Bowser flipped through the pages, he came across mainly meat and mushroom recipes, and realized that many of these recipes actually did sound appetizing to him.

"... Thanks..." Bowser finally mumbled. "Wait, there's a page bookmarked here..."

Ness turned and walked back to his seat, hiding a grin on his face.

"Hey! Why did you mark the page for 'turtle soup'?!"

Mario and a few of his friends laughed at the giant koopa's response.

Bowser grumbled and gave his present to Jigglypuff, a metronome, a songbook, and a note attached that said 'For practice in your room ONLY'. There was one more thing in the box... a bottle of teriyaki marinade.

"Ig jigglypuff, puff iggly jig?" (I love my present, but what's that for?)

"Bodywash," Bowser replied with his typical ruthless grin.

"Not even the holidays can stop Bowser from being Bowser," Peach said with a sigh.

Jigglypuff giggled with delight, giving her present to Kirby... a cute little chef's hat.

Kirby's Secret Santa was Ruby, and he gave her a brand new apron and a set of oven mitts.

"Well, we certainly have come full circle!" Crazy announced. "I'll just give my present now, so we can keep going. Now, where's Fox..."

Spotting the pilot in the crowd, he made his way over to give him a new jacket and headset.

Fox's present was for Nana, giving her a new coat, a set of hair ties, and a huge toy shovel.

"For flinging snow," he explained with a grin. "Just don't test it out on me first, okay?"

She nodded with a laugh, then ran up on stage to give Crazy his present- five mittens of different colors, but all for the right hand. There was also a bag of choclates, but it was really the mittens that intrigued him.

"Just in case your other hand gets cold," she explained.

Crazy laughed, but thanked her.

"And that's the end! Now, how about we start serving breakfast?"

"Wait a minute..." Zelda commented. "What about Master? Doesn't he get anything?"

"Perfect timing," remarked the man from behind the doorway. "I don't care for anything, but I do have a surprise for everyone."

He walked into the room, and was greeted by a chorus of "Awww!"s from the girls and Marth.

In Master's arms was a small yellow creature that greatly resembled Pikachu, but with pink cheeks and wider, flatter ears.

"Pika Pichu!" (It's a Pichu!) Pikachu remarked.

"Yes, this is Pichu," Master explained as the little Poke'mon looked around the room at all the new, unfamiliar faces.

"He's so cute!" Peach cooed.

"Pi chu pichu," (But I'm a girl,) the little Poke'mon remarked. **(1)**

"Yes, I know," Master said to the Poke'mon. "This Pichu is actually a female, Peach."

"Oops! My mistake," the princess apologized.

"Now then, after breakfast, we'll need someone to show Pichu around. Any volunteers?"

"Pikachu!" (I'll do it!)

"Me too!" Ness added.

"All right. I believe we should eat breakfast first, and then we can worry about touring the Suites." Master commented, gently releasing the Poke'mon from his hold as he stepped off the stage.

Ruby smiled as she willingly got to work preparing another plate of food. She had baked a delicious cheese and bacon souffle, and had distributed it onto twenty-two plates (just eight more to go!) already. The fighters formed a line- willingly letting Master and Pichu go first- to enjoy their delicious holiday meal.

After breakfast, Ness and Pikachu spent the day showing Pichu around the dorms. When the time came for her to choose a room, Pichu ended up filling in the last spot on the first floor, in Room 3. They introduced her to all of their close friends as well, except for Captain Falcon, Fox, and Zelda, who had been confined to their rooms. Nevertheless, Marth, Roy, and Link put in a few good words about them. By the end of the day, Pichu had become very fond of everyone, even one person who wasn't very fond of her (it wouldn't be hard to guess that it was Bowser).

Pichu had to spend the weekend with Pikachu, however, as Ness had business to return to. As he had discussed with Marth on Friday morning, he was willing to start training again. Saturday morning passed into Saturday evening, into Sunday morning, and then into Sunday evening.

Malon, Spike, and Alice returned to the cafeteria room after delivering meals to the bounty hunter, pilot, and princess confined in their rooms. They had arrived just in time to see Master announcing the fights for Monday. Pichu had been nervous about fighting, but after Pikachu and Ness explained that she couldn't be hurt, she definitely seemed a lot more excited.

"Now, then... the matches for tomorrow..." Master stated, as the display screen came down to show who was fighting who.

**Day Off: Jigglypuff**

**Icicle Mountain, 10:00 am**

_Zelda vs. Pichu_

**Mushroom Kingdom II, 10: 30 am **

_Captain Falcon vs. Falco_

**Venom, 11:00 am**

_Ice Climbers vs. Roy_

**Fountain of Dreams, 11:30 am**

_Peach vs. Fox_

**Big Blue, 12:30 pm**

_Yoshi vs. Luigi _

**Onett, 1:15 pm**

_Mario vs. Donkey Kong_

**Corneria, 2:00 pm**

_Kirby vs. Marth_

**Poke'mon Stadium, 2:45 pm**

_Link vs. Dr. Mario_

**Mushroom Kingdom, 3:30 pm**

_Samus vs. Pikachu_

**Hyrule Temple, 4:15 pm**

_Ness vs. Bowser_

"Oh, great..." Ness groaned.

"Ha!" Bowser taunted, a table away from Ness. "You're going to regret that turtle soup joke of yours!"

"I was hoping I'd get lucky and maybe end up fighting Pichu or Kirby, someone a little less stronger than me..." Ness complained.

"Come on, that's no way to talk. I said similar things when I was matched against Link. I lost, yes, but that didn't stop me!" Marth tried to reassure. "Maybe you will lose. On the other hand, maybe you'll win! But until you can remember that, there's no way you can ever win."

**-----------------------------------------------------**

The hours of night finally crept back into the morning. Ness was going through a turbulent emotional rollercoaster... he was confident when he remembered what Marth told him, but nervous when he remembered his opponent was Bowser. Perhaps the hours would go by slowly? Or the matches would be dragged out for so long that they would have to cancel the last matches of the day because it would have been so late?

Not a chance.

Zelda and Pichu's match lasted about fifteen minutes. The shifting stage of Icicle Mountain was a bit confusing, but Pichu finally got the hang of keeping up, especially since she was a pretty fast creature. Zelda wasn't nearly as fast, and couldn't duck underneath platforms as quickly as Pichu could. She ended up too high on the platforms- therefore, out of bounds and defeated. Now, once again, Ness was the only fighter who hadn't won a single fight.

Ten-thirty soon approached, and Captain Falcon battled Falco in the Mushroom Kingdom II stage. This match ended even quicker. Captain Falcon swept forward and caught Falco with a Raptor Boost technique. The pilot was sent upward in a burst of flames. The bounty hunter jabbed his elbow forward, smashing Falco in the jaw and sending him into a pit on the right side of the arena. Falco nearly recovered, but Captain Falcon finished off his combo by leaping over the pit and slamming his feet down onto Falco's neck, smashing him into the depths of the pit.

The Ice Climbers defeated Roy at Venom with the help of a Motion Sensor Bomb and their hammers. Popo had thrown the bomb against the side of the Great Fox's dorsal 'wing', while Nana grabbed Roy and headbutted him in the stomach several times. He broke away briefly, only to be smashed by a forward swing of their hammers, slamming into the bomb, and hurling off into the sky as a star.

Peach defeated Fox at the Fountain of Dreams using the power of Poke'mon. This, by far, was the quickest match of the day, since Peach had only needed one Poke'ball to do the job. After all, it had held the legendary Lugia inside...

Already, it was lunch time. Ness ate his pizza in silence, watching Bowser from across the room.

"Relax, okay? It's not like this is a life or death situation..." Link told him.

Ness swallowed the bite of food in his mouth before replying. "Yeah, but after I made that turtle soup joke... Bowser would never let me live it down. I'd be mocked by him for... however long we'll be staying here!"

"I bet if you put up a really good fight, he'll at least be a little bit respectful," Marth consoled.

"I guess I can try..." Ness decided, picking up his pizza to take another bite.

"Hey, what did I say to you before? It's time for you to stop _trying_, and time to start _doing,_" the prince reminded him.

Link looked over at Marth with a smile, impressed with the prince's words.

"I have a challenge for you, Ness. Don't _try _your best to _try_ to defeat Bowser. _Do_ your best. And _do_ defeat Bowser," Captain Falcon challenged, adding to Marth's pep talk.

Something came over the twelve-year-old at that moment. He smiled confidently and nodded.

"Okay. I'll _do_ it."

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------**

Most of the matches after lunch took a little longer, but time still seemed to fly as the final match of the day approached.

Luigi defeated Yoshi at Big Blue after the green dinosaur had fallen off of the high-speed cars and rolled onto the road and out of bounds.

Donkey Kong hadn't gotten along very well with the cars at Onett, and once Mario had managed to grab hold of DK, he swung him around in a circle and threw him out of bounds.

On the stage of Corneria, Kirby had absorbed Marth's powers to wield a miniature version of Falchion. Kirby could only copy Marth's Shield Breaker technique, but the prince could easily counter the move. In the end, a few Dancing Blade combos, a hefty shot from an Arwing, and a powerful Shield Breaker of Marth's own had led to the prince's victory.

A Super Scope barrage from Link, a well-aimed boomerang, sword slashes, and punches were exchanged in the battle between Link and Dr. Mario at the Poke'mon Stadium. Link leapt up onto one of the platforms where a Warp-Star was waiting. Dr. Mario tried to follow, but once he realized what Link's strategy was... it was already too late. The powerful explosion of the star rocked the doc off of the left side of the arena.

With so many brick ceilings overhead, Pikachu couldn't use its Thunder attack at the Mushroom Kingdom, giving it a major disadvantage. It fought to the best of its ability against Samus, but without its most powerful electric attack, the Poke'mon stood no chance against the bounty huntress.

The Poke'mon and bounty huntress completed their match at 3:45, leaving thirty minutes until Ness would have to combat Bowser.

Ten minutes went by.

Now it had been twenty.

Twenty-five.

Ness sat on his bed, holding the baseball bat in his hands, looking over his friends' signatures. He clutched it tightly with a smile, then placed it back into its box. Adjusting the brim on his hat, Ness left his room and headed back to the battle arena.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Marth took a deep breath, his chest feeling tight. Once excited about the final match, he was now nervous. His heartbeat felt heavy inside his chest. Caught between a mix of excitement and anticipation, the thrill was making Marth's adrenaline go haywire.

At last.

Hyrule Temple appeared on screen, Marth noticing that the battle music in the background was the same one he had heard when he battled Link there about a month ago.

Ness appeared on the left side of the arena, Bowser on the right. Ness stood upon the grounds of some sort of temple ruin, whereas Bowser stood behind a thick pillar.

"Ready... go!" Master declared, initiating the fight.

Ness ran forward as Bowser leapt onto the pillar. The king of the koopas began to spew flames from his mouth, but Ness had seen this coming and jumped up as he ran off the temple grounds.

Starting to land from his jump, Ness held out his hands and released a few sparks of energy, managing to zap Bowser once. It had only delivered 3% damage, but getting the first hit in the match was definitely a good sign.

Bowser stepped off the pillar, flipping his body upside down to drill the sharp spikes on his back against Ness for 5% damage. Ness was stunned briefly, but swung his yo-yo out in a low, back-and-forth sweep, raising Bowser's damage to 10%. Ness leaned backwards a little bit, holding out his arms for balance, and delivered several quick, low kicks against Bowser's knees, bringing his damage up to 18%. Bowser made a short hop quickly and spun his shell around, raising Ness's damage by 13%. They were even now.

Ness held his baseball bat- the one he had always used to fight -back, ready to swing, but couldn't bring it forward fast enough. Bowser swept his claws forward twice, then grabbed the boy, headbutted him twice, and tossed him forward. At 45%, Ness bounced off the pillar and tumbled behind the koopa, landing in the underground passageway.

Ness collapsed on his stomach, but when Bowser approached, he swung his feet around as he stood up, kicking the king backwards for an extra 6%. The monstrous turtle was the one who hit the pillar now, but stood up without a sign of weakness. Ness leapt forward and used another spark attack, this time shocking the koopa multiple times. Landing, Bowser swung his spiked shell again to knock the psychic boy away, then crouched down to slash at him twice in a low, swooping motion.

Ness fell again, but kicked out like he had before, knocking Bowser off of him. He quickly pulled out his baseball bat and managed to score a hit on Bowser. When the koopa fell to the ground, Ness swept him into the air with a low strike from his yo-yo. Ness's damage stood at 70%; Bowser's at 69%.

Remembering that Bowser could use a powerful, crushing attack in mid-air with his whole body - the "Bowser Bomb" - Ness rolled out of the way where the koopa would be landing. Not that it mattered. The koopa grabbed the edge of the temple grounds and hauled his massive body up. Bowser stormed off towards the small gazebo, remembering there was a set of two thin floors that led to what was likely the "cellar" of the temple.

Ness was also familiar with the cellar and followed the underground passage to prepare for Bowser's arrival. The koopa ducked under one thin floor. The psychic boy had to act quickly.

"PK FLASH!" Ness shouted, generating a large cloud of green energy. He tried to aim it where Bowser would be landing, but the koopa managed to avoid it easily, using his Bowser Bomb technique to gain speed and land right on top of Ness. The attack threw Ness over the two floors, almost to the small gazebo. He shook off the shock in midair, and was soon ducking under the thinly tiled ground to pursue Bowser. The koopa seemed to have some sort of plan, as he started to make his way down to an ever lower level, where the only ground to stand upon was a pillar. However, there wasn't really a plan; Bowser turned around once Ness arrived, and just in time to spot the psychic boy attempting to zap him again. The koopa leapt up forcefully, driving his spikes into Ness's body. Ness was slammed against the layer of dirt where the underground passage led to the cellar, then landed on the tiled floor of the cellar. He stood up, waiting for Bowser to come near.

The fighters rooting for Ness (all of them, naturally) were starting to become concerned. The boy's damage was now at 111%, whereas Bowser was still at 69%. With his small size, one good hit from the koopa was all it would take for Ness to lose another fight.

The psychic boy jumped over Bowser and released sparks from his hands, shocking the koopa. Watching where Bowser was falling, Ness swooped his yo-yo in a circular arc, catching the koopa in 'mid-fall'. He then swooped his yo-yo in a low sweep to knock Bowser into the air above him.

Unfortunately, this knocked Ness backwards, almost far enough to fall off the edge of the cellar. Ness's damage now stood at 131%, Bowser's at 95%. Ness jumped up quickly off the ground, a good move, as the monstrous king began to breathe fire. While in the air, Ness kicked both his legs out behind him, delivering a powerful shockwave to Bowser's head. He was thrown backwards from the blow, far enough to land in the lowest part of the upper passage. Bowser stood up quickly, though, and marched his way back down to combat Ness underground. The psychic child leapt over to Bowser and attempted to spark him... but Bowser anticipated this and rolled out of the way, behind the boy.

"Ness, watch out!" Nana shouted.

The giant koopa used another forceful leap, smashing his spikes into Ness. The boy released a shout as he was slammed against the ceiling of the cellar then back onto the ground. Nevertheless, he swept his legs out and kicked Bowser away from him, then rolled his yo-yo in a low swing... sending the koopa into the air above Ness once again.

Cue the Bowser Bomb, and Ness being slammed against the ceiling of the cellar and back into the ground once again with another shout. Ness's damage now stood at 167%, Bowser's at 123%.

The psychic boy leapt over Bowser, attempting to hit him with another strong kick like he did before, but missed. Bowser scratched him once, then grabbed the boy and headbutted him before tossing him up onto the passageway.

Ness tumbled back down, ready to continue the fight, but landed low enough that Bowser could leap up and make an upward slash, knocking Ness further up the passageway. The twelve-year-old's damage now stood at 202%. He dashed back down the passageway and leapt forward, zapping Bowser several times with a spark attack. Quickly, Ness pulled out his baseball bat and smashed it against Bowser's neck, sending the koopa backwards. The monstrous beast stood up soon, only to be confronted by another attack from the psychic boy.

"PK FIRE!" A small yellow spark of energy soon erupted into a flaming column, trapping Bowser in the heat.

Ness attempted another PK Flash attack, but released it too high. Bowser was wide open to strut forward and grab the boy, knocking him against the spikes on his back in a spinning attack. Ness was thrown against the ceiling, then came back down just in time for Bowser to spin his body around rapidly, catching Ness in another vortex of spikes. He was thrown against the ceiling and crashed back onto the ground, near enough to punch Bowser away when he stood up. Bowser was hit upward slightly, just enough for Ness to smack him with his bat. Bowser crashed upwards onto the secret floor between the temple grounds and the cellar. Ness's damage had risen to 235%, Bowser's to 179%. The koopa ducked back down to the cellar to fight, only to receive another spark attack that threw him against the ceiling, then against Ness's baseball bat. The monstrous king flew up onto the secret floor, now with his damage at 204%.

"Ness is starting to catch up..." Samus remarked.

Bowser rolled back down to attack Ness, who had pulled out his baseball bat. They attacked each other at the same time, so quickly that no one really knew what happened to them. But Ness was thrown through the passageway, and Bowser had been thrown up through the secret floors and onto the temple grounds near Ness's starting point. Ness and Bowser both stood up at 248% and 220% respectively.

The psychic boy made his way back down to the cellar, Bowser in hot pursuit. Upon landing, Ness swung his yo-yo in a circular arc to try and knock Bowser away if the koopa was about to land nearby. On the contrary, the monstrous turtle was high above Ness, and was able to unleash another Bowser Bomb attack. The psychic boy cried out as he was slammed into the ceiling, then fell down to the lower passageway from the cellar. The koopa turned to pursue Ness, which gave the boy perfect timing to turn around and use another powerful jump kick that zapped the koopa with psychic energy. Bowser roared from the shot and fell backwards.

The boy ran up and attempted to hit the koopa with his bat, but Bowser swung his claws out, knocking Ness away. Ness dashed forward and tackled Bowser. Normally, the boy couldn't knock away an enemy of such great size, but the damage Bowser had taken was proving to be a handicap for the turtle.

"PK FIRE!" Ness hit the koopa only once with the pillar of flames, but it was better than landing no damage.

Bowser decided to fight fire with fire, spewing flames from his mouth. Caught in the inferno, Ness had no choice but to back up. The boy leapt over Bowser in an attempt to attack, but the koopa swung his claws yet again, slashing Ness so hard that he was thrown up the passageway and above the upper level of the temple. At 283%, Ness seemed done for...

"I can't watch!" Marth squeaked, covering his eyes.

"It's all right," Link reassured, gently lowering Marth's hands away from his face. "Look, he's coming back down!"

The prince looked up at the screen to see Ness coming to a landing - on his feet - in front of the gazebo. The boy ducked underneath the floors and back into the cellar. Bowser had attempted to pursue him by jumping into the upper passageway.

"I get it," Captain Falcon remarked. "As long as he's in the cellar, Ness can only get bounced off the ceiling. He can't go flying off into the sky like he would if he was fighting out in the open, like on the actual temple grounds."

"PK FLASH!"

Ness charged up a green flash of energy, sending it floating over to the edge of the passageway. It would've been a knock-out hit... if Bowser hadn't been standing higher up.

"Nice aim, loser," Bowser scoffed.

"PK FLASH!" Ness shouted again. He aimed too high, causing the energy to be absorbed by the ceiling.

The koopa leapt down, shell-side first, stabbing Ness with a few spikes. The boy recovered quickly and dashed forward, knocking the king backwards with a shock from his hands.

Instinctively, Bowser attempted another Bowser Bomb attack, hoping Ness would be underneath him... but he wasn't. Ness was standing a little to his left... and when the koopa landed, he got an armful of baseball bat.

"Nice aim, loser," Ness scoffed.

This time, Bowser was the one sent flying, up over the temple grounds. Everyone in the room held their breath... but Bowser wasn't hit hard enough to fly off out of bounds.

Ness remained in the cellar, waiting for Bowser to come down the passageway. Sure enough, he heard the loud footsteps of the massive turtle-like king as he marched toward his opponent.

"PK FLASH!"

Ness's aim was off yet again. Bowser took advantage of this and smashed him with another Bowser Bomb. Ness bounced off the ceiling, landing near the koopa king. The psychic boy kicked the koopa king away as he returned to his feet, only to be greeted by a smack to the face. Bowser slashed him again, then caught the boy in a whirling vortex with his spiked shell. Ness shouted as he was thrown into the upper passageway. However, he returned to his feet and dashed back down. Bowser anticipated this and began to breathe fire, managing to singe the boy multiple times.

Ness jumped up as Bowser stormed towards him. The koopa attempted to headbutt him, but the psychic boy slammed his foot down into Bowser's neck with a powerful kick. Several fighters cheered.

The score now stood with Ness's damage at a whopping 344%, compared with Bowser at 293%.

Returning to his feet, the monstrous king began to breathe fire once again, burning the boy. Bowser marched toward Ness again, but the boy jumped up and performed another slamming kick into Bowser's neck. The koopa king hit the ceiling and landed behind Ness. The psychic boy quickly turned around and smaaaaashed him with his baseball bat. Bowser bounced off the ceiling and landed behind Ness yet again. Ness's damage had reached 352%, Bowser had reached 327%. A single hit could decide this fight at anytime.

Ness spun around quickly and smashed Bowser with his baseball bat once again, knocking the koopa king over the edge of the cellar at 340%. All the spectators gasped.

Bowser whirled his body around rapidly to recover...

... but fell short of the edge of the cellar.

The room of fighters fell silent as Bowser gave a defeated roar as he fell into the depths below the hovering temple.

"GAME!"

Had it really happened?!

A stirring string melody began to play as Ness appeared on the victory screen. The boy looked around in surprise, then modestly rubbed the back of his head with a huge smile.

A loud cheer erupted in the room.

"He did it! He really did it!" Marth celebrated, throwing his arms around Link's neck. Nana grabbed the prince's waist in a group hug.

"This game's winner is... NESS!" As Master made the announcement, he couldn't help but grin.

Marth let go of Link as the elevator opened. Sure enough, a certain winner came dashing out, nearly tackling Marth in a hug.

"I did it! I finally did it!!"

"You were great! I think that's the best fight they ever held here!" Nana cheered, hugging her friend as well.

"Everyone is free for the rest of the day. See you all at dinner," Master announced.

With no other fights planned for the day, the only thing the fighters could do now...

... was celebrate.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**(1) I don't know what Pichu's gender is, but I've always assumed it was female, considering that it wears those little red ribbons and bows. For the purposes of this story, Pichu will be female, even if in Smash it's supposed to be male.**

**Samus: (smiles) That was a great chapter.**

**Captain Falcon: The author said that this was one of her favorite chapters to write. **

**Samus: Do you think we'll have a chapter dedicated to the party?**

**Captain Falcon: Probably not. You know what I just realized? This was the end of that mini story-arc revolving around Ness.**

**Samus: That's too bad. These last few chapters have been pretty enjoyable.**

**Captain Falcon: From what I've seen based on the author's notes on Swordplay, the next story arc will really revolve a lot around Link...**

**Samus and Captain Falcon: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! **


	19. We Need to Talk

**Captain Falcon: Welcome back to Swordplay, everyone!**

**Samus: We've finally hit Chapter 19.**

**Captain Falcon: I remember the author mentioning we're probably halfway through the story, maybe more...?**

**Samus: Heck if I know. One thing I _do_ know is that she's got Brawl, and she's dying to write a fanfic for it. Besides "Blunette and Brunette", I mean.**

**Captain Falcon: All right, let's have our guest do the disclaimer.**

**Ness: Okay! bijoukaiba claims no ownership of Super Smash Brothers Melee, or any of its related characters or their respective franchises.**

**Samus: See you later. Hooray for time skips!**

**----------------------------------**

**Chapter 19: We Need To Talk**

The next three weeks went by faster than a one-stock match with a Level 1 handicap and Bob-Ombs as the only item. A new year had started, and for the fighters at the Battle Royale Suites, it only made them want to face new challenges.

More fighters began to take on the Event Matches, and almost half of them had been completed by this time. More people started to sign up for Classic and Adventure modes as well, and in the process, a new fighter had come along. It turned out Master and Crazy had actually manipulated time travel to introduce the younger form of Link as a challenger. With no real inspiration for nicknames, they had settled on calling him "Young Link".

"But why do we need two Links?" Bowser had asked. "Isn't one enough?"

Master had shrugged and replied, "It was Crazy's idea, not mine. Enough said."

Nevertheless, Young Link was welcomed among the fighters, particularly the Hylians, swordsmen, and younger fighters, earning a room on the top floor.

The younger fighters. Things were starting to change for them, and they didn't seem so 'young' or 'little' anymore.

A perfect example of this was Ness. After he had earned his first victory against Bowser, it was like a giant weight of misfortune had been lifted from his shoulders. That same week, he went on to win three more matches, defeating Pichu, Roy, and Mario, but losing to Donkey Kong. Nevertheless, his record continued to improve incredibly. At the present time, his record was approaching an even number of wins and losses, at 13-19.

Sometimes, growth isn't always a good thing. It certainly wasn't too pleasing to the Ice Climbers, particularly to Popo. Nana was his closest friend, almost like a sister to him, but she had suddenly started to seem colder to him. She wasn't doing it intentionally to offend him, but she seemed a bit... 'distracted' whenever a boy went past, particularly Ness. It surprised many people (it amused Bowser) to sometimes find Nana quarreling with Popo over different things. Whether it was what they should have done to win a fight, or how he should take better care of his clothes, or even trying to correct his manners, they were arguing more often than normal. It actually bothered many of the fighters, to see the image of companionship tarnished by quarreling for reasons they didn't know.

It was a Friday night, and many fighters were heading to bed. Popo changed into his pajamas in the room he shared with Nana like he always had; Nana now preferred to change her clothes in the restroom.

Popo flopped down on the bottom bunk, clad in blue pajamas. Nana came out of the restroom in her pink pajamas and climbed up onto the top bunk.

"Will you get the lights?" Nana asked with a bit of impatience.

"Can't you do it?"

"Well, _you're_ the one in the bottom bunk by the lamp," she replied.

Without a good comeback, Popo sat up and reached over to the bedside table with the small lamp. He turned the knob to shut it off, enveloping their room in darkness.

Popo was silent for a moment, before calmly asking, "Nana? Can we talk?"

"I'd rather sleep," she sighed. "What?"

"What's happened to you? We used to be such good friends, and now you're..." he paused to find the right word. "... just, different."

"I don't know..." Nana mumbled.

"It just seems like you're under a lot of pressure. It seems like everything I do bothers you now, but it didn't before. And what's up with Ness? Do you like him or something?"

"No...!" Nana retorted, but it sounded like there was denial in her voice. "I don't know. I guess I've changed, and I just think the stuff you do is embarrassing."

"But it's fun!"

"Maybe to you, but... look, can I go to sleep?" Nana asked.

"Why isn't it fun anymore?"

"Will you stop asking me questions?! It's really annoying!" Nana raised her voice.

A knock at the door caught their attention.

"Hey guys, can you quiet down in there?" Fox's voice came from the other side of the door. "Some of us are trying to sleep, you know."

The Ice Climbers were quiet for a moment, then resumed arguing.

"Maybe I'm not annoying, maybe you're just boring! And if I bother you so much, then maybe you should just leave!" Popo whispered, nearly hissing.

"Maybe I will!"

He heard movement in the bed above him, then Nana climbing down the ladder. He heard her footsteps getting fainter until light entered the room - the door opening - then it got dark again.

It also sounded like Nana had started crying after she left the room.

Right now, Popo didn't care. He pulled the blankets over his head, trying to ignore his anger so he could sleep.

**-------------------------------------------------------------**

Marth had finished buttoning up his pajama top when he heard crying in the hallway. Curious, and hoping to comfort whoever it was, he peered out and saw Nana starting to head towards the fourth floor, carrying a pillow under her arm and dragging a blanket with her free hand.

"Nana?" the prince asked.

The girl turned around to look at him with a sniffle.

"Oh dear, what's wrong?" she was a bit short, so Marth had to kneel down to her eye level.

"I... I had a fight with Popo..." she whimpered.

She started crying again, hugging onto the prince. Marth gently patted her back.

"I know, you've been arguing a lot lately... but what brings you here?"

Marth looked up as the door to Link's room opened and the Hylian came out in his pajamas as well. He looked down, meeting Marth's eyes.

"I thought I heard crying," the Hylian remarked, kneeling down as well and placing a hand on Nana's shoulder. "Everything all right?"

"She had another fight with Popo, and I think this was probably a bad one..."

"Ohh..."

"He... he told me that maybe I should leave, so I... I did. I was going to see if... if Zelda would let me stay with her to... tonight." Nana explained, choking on her sobs as she tried to hold them back.

"I think Zelda's already asleep," Link apologized.

"I... I was kind of thinking of asking Joy if I could have a different room. I... I don't know why, but I've felt really uncomfortable about sharing a room with Popo lately..."

A perplexed look passed over Link's face.

"Nana... how old are you, again?"

Nana turned her head to look at the Hylian. She appeared confused, but answered his question. "I'm eleven... but I'll be twelve in October. Why?"

Now Marth looked up at Link, realizing exactly what his fellow swordsman was thinking.

"Oh, do you think she might be..." Marth's voice trailed off when he saw Link shake his head quickly.

"I'll just tell Joy to talk to you tomorrow, okay? Peach, Samus, or Zelda might also be able to help. Don't worry about it tonight, Nana. You really ought to get some sleep right now," Link explained.

"You can take my room tonight," Marth offered to the girl. "I don't mind sleeping in the hallway for one night... I've had to rest in worse conditions."

"Okay," she agreed. Nana definitely appeared to be feeling a little better. She smiled and commented, "Thanks, you guys. Sometimes it feels like you're my big brothers."

Marth went in with Nana, then returned to the hallway with a pillow and blanket in his arms. It surprised the prince to see the Hylian still standing in the hallway, almost as if he was waiting for him.

"That was a nice thing you did," Link commented with a smile.

"Thanks," Marth replied softly, glancing down at his bedding with a small smile.

"You don't have to sleep in the hallway, you know," the Hylian commented, opening his door.

"Oh no, I couldn't," Marth shook his head. "I really don't want this to turn into a complicated room-trading situation in one night."

"Then we won't trade," Link replied. He blushed slightly, though it couldn't be seen in the dark hallway. "We'll just share."

"Sh... share?" Marth squeaked. It was a good thing their faces were hardly visible in the dark; Marth had turned bright red.

"Sure..." Link replied awkwardly, leading Marth in. "We're both guys... it's not like it's implicative or anything."

"Of course not," Marth agreed, setting his extra pillow and blanket aside on a chair. "I mean, we are... just friends..."

"... Yeah," Link agreed, pulling the bed covers back. "Do you prefer a side? I don't have any real opinion."

"The left is fine," Marth replied, sitting down on that side of the bed.

Link turned off the light in his room. Marth felt him crawl past him in the dark, before settling on his side of the bed. The Hylian pulled the covers over both of them.

"Good night," Link whispered.

"Sweet dreams," Marth replied softly.

The prince closed his eyes and snuggled into the pillow. He took a deep, relaxing breath, pulling the covers up to his ears. Link smiled, feeling the covers shift. He rolled onto his back, folding his hands over his chest and closing his eyes.

Twenty minutes later, he opened them again.

He just couldn't fall asleep.

Link rolled onto his left side, finding himself facing the back of the prince.

Sure, on some of his adventures, he'd had to stay the night at the house of a kind farmer or peasant, and occasionally had stayed with another male.

It didn't bother him then. But why did it feel so different, so awkward, to be sharing a bed with the lovely prince?

It felt so wrong to him, being this close to Marth. But how could something so wrong feel so _right _to Link?

Marth rolled over in his sleep, his fingers gently clutching the loose folds of Link's pajamas that rested near his heart. His warm breath tickled the Hylian's bare neck. If the prince was awake, he would've been startled by how fast Link's heart was beating.

What was Link supposed to do? Wake him up and say, 'Hey, sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep, but you accidentally grabbed onto me and it's making me... uncomfortable, so could you please let go and scoot over?' Of course not, that'd be rude and awkward.

He was feeling a bit more relaxed, however. He probably was just too cold before, and now that Marth was this close to him, he was feeling warmer and more comfortable. The prince would probably roll over again in a few minutes anyway. Link yawned sleepily and draped an arm over Marth's shoulder. Whether he had intended to or not, he didn't know- Link practically passed out in a few minutes.

**------------------------------------------------------------**

Sunlight was the natural alarm clock for the fighters on that Saturday morning. Nana was still resting peacefully in Marth's room, and the two swordsmen were asleep in Link's room.

Correction... Marth was now awakening in Link's room. The prince found himself curled neatly against Link's chest, with the Hylian's arm draped over his shoulder. His arm seemed larger than what he had expected; while he wasn't as 'pumped' as Captain Falcon, there were definitely some muscles in Link, probably from hauling around that heavy shield, or wielding that bow or sword of his.

A brief smile passed over Marth's face, then he shook it away. No, no, no! He shouldn't be admiring another male's build; he shouldn't even _be_ in the arms of another man, it was wrong!

...

... But how could something so wrong feel so _right_ to Marth?

_No, no. We're just friends. There's no way. I _can't_ be in love with Link. I just can't._

"There's no way," Marth whispered to himself softly, tucking his arms against his own chest.

"No way to what?" Link murmured.

He removed his arm from Marth's shoulders, stretching both of his limbs past his head, drumming his fingers against the headboard of his bed.

"It's nothing," Marth lied, then put on a cheerful face. "Good morning."

"Mornin'," Link replied with a yawn as he rolled out of bed.

Marth followed suit, sitting up and stretching his arms above his head. He quickly stood up and strode over to the door.

"Leaving already?" Link asked, then grinned. "I'm not _that_ bad of a host, am I?"

Marth smiled and shook his head. "No, I just wanted to check if Nana was awake. I can't wear my pajamas all day, you know."

"Good point. I should also ask Zelda to have that talk with Nana."

Marth nodded.

"... Thanks again."

"No problem."

The prince exited the room, and was surprised to greet Zelda, dressed in a casual white blouse and long purple skirt, already heading down the hallway. He smiled, but she gave him a confused look.

"Morning, Marth... I'm a little surprised to see you coming out of Link's room so early in the morning..."

"Good morning. It's all right, Princess. It's a long story. Link would like to speak with you about something," the prince approached the door to his room and knocked. "Nana? Are you awake?"

Greeted with another baffled expression from the princess, the prince replied, "Again, long story. Link can explain everything."

Before the princess could reply, much to Zelda's (and Marth's) surprise, Link practically yanked her into his room.

"Could you be a little more gentle next time?" Zelda asked, smoothing off her skirt. She looked up to see Link pacing around his room, still dressed in his pajamas. "Now I'm really curious. What's up with Nana in Marth's room?"

"We need to talk. First, Nana stayed in Marth's room tonight because she's suddenly uncomfortable with sharing a room with Popo. I think you and Joy - maybe Samus and Peach as well - need to talk to Nana about what happens when you get older," Link explained.

Zelda blushed slightly, but nodded.

"No problem, we can talk after lunch in my room," she paused after noticing Link was still pacing in the room. "I'm surprised that asking me to talk to her would put you through so much stress."

"It's not Nana that's bothering me. It's... Marth," Link admitted, coming to a standstill.

"Oh?" Zelda asked, sitting on the edge of Link's bed. "How so?"

"Well, since Nana was in his room, I invited Marth to spend the night with me... and I've been feeling strange ever since. I can't quite put my finger on _how_ strange, it's just... strange."

"Maybe you're coming down with something," Zelda suggested. "I mean, after Marth saved Ness, they both had a small cold a few days after. Maybe you caught a small cold from him?"

"It's not strange like _that_. I haven't felt this way for a while. Like, ever since we formed search parties to go look for Ness, when I..." Link sighed, and sat down floppily next to her on the bed. He sighed again, burying his face in his hands.

"... I _kissed _him, Zelda."

"You did _what_?" the princess's tone wasn't disgusted, nor jealous, nor ashamed, but she wasn't exactly in a 'good-for-you' tone either. The only way to describe Zelda's reaction was startled and surprised. "... Why?"

"He was upset, and it just seemed like the only way to comfort him. And Marth didn't even try to back out of it. I don't know why it came to me... it just did," Link explained. "And then, last night... I felt so uncomfortable, but at the same time, so relaxed and at ease..." Link squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. "I... I... _I just don't know!_"

"Easy, take it easy. It's okay," Zelda soothed, gently rubbing his back. "I have to admit, I've never seen you act this way around anyone before. You might not have known each other as long as you've known, say, myself or Saria, but you've certainly known Marth for several months now."

Link took a deep breath, starting to relax. "Zelda... what's wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you. At least, I don't think so," Zelda comforted. "... I'm not sure how you'll take this, but... do you want to know what _I _think?"

**----------------------------------------------------------**

Marth exitted his room, freshly changed into his new favorite outfit for the weekends- his Falcon shirt with a pair of khakis. He was free to change in his room, as Nana was absent. She had, however, written him a note thanking him for his favor.

Out in the hallway, he immediately walked over to Link's room, ready to invite the Hylian to spend the weekend with him. He placed his hand on the doorknob, already pondering the fun things they would do that day.

"NO! I DON'T LIKE MARTH!"

Marth jerked his hand away from the door, almost as if it had burned him.

But it certainly wasn't his hand that hurt.

**----------------------------------------------------------------**

Zelda appeared shocked by Link's loud outburst. Noticing the princess' frightened expression, Link took a few deep breaths, calming down.

"I'm sorry. But, I don't like him... not like _that_ at least..." the Hero of Time added quietly. "It's not meant to be."

His female friend placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry if that embarrassed you," Zelda apologized. "But you know, some people would probably say the same thing about me."

Link looked over at the princess.

"How do you think Hyrule would react if they knew I was in a relationship with someone from a different race - a different _species_, technically - from myself? Especially if they knew that he looked like an animal," she narrated. "But I wouldn't care what they say. I like Fox for who he is, not what he is nor what he looks like."

Zelda blushed. "It's like they say, it's what's _inside _that counts," she smiled and continued. "And that's probably why I love him. Love is love, and neither race nor gender should decide who you care about."

Now Link blushed, looking down at the floor. "I'm... I'm not sure what to think."

"It's just what I think. Maybe to you, it seems wrong. But... I just want to help," she placed another comforting hand on his shoulder, then stepped out of the room. Marth was standing outside, his back to her, clearly waiting to see her dear friend. She smiled, then continued down the hallway, hoping to run into Fox downstairs.

Link slipped out of his pajamas and into a red shirt with blue jeans. Exiting the room, he was surprised to find Marth, standing with his back to him.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked with a smile.

The prince was silent, still facing away. Link's expression fell; this was almost like the search on that snowy day.

"Marth?"

"How could you say that?" Marth asked. His tone was darker, and his voice was softer. He sounded solemn. He sounded hurt.

"You heard what I said to Zelda?" Link asked, taken aback.

"I heard enough."

"How could you?! I mean, after telling her about Nana... that was supposed to be a private conversation!" Link's voice was raised slightly.

"Private? Certainly not, if you were talking loud enough for me to hear. You practically screamed to the others how you feel about me," Marth retorted.

"Well, I'm sorry if you thought I had feelings for you, but I don't," Link stated, his voice growing darker. "What happened a few months ago was a mistake. It wasn't supposed to happen. The time we've spent together... it wasn't supposed to hap-"

The sound of Marth slapping Link across the face seemed to echo coldly off the walls. The prince's hand was numbed from the shock, and Link's cheek stung with pain as it turned red.

"Then maybe..." Link decided. "Maybe it's better if we stop spending time together."

"Maybe you're right," Marth agreed coldly.

The Hylian stormed past, not even looking the prince in the eye, heading downstairs.

Marth returned to his room, slamming the door shut behind him. He leaned back against the door, releasing a huff of anger.

_No. I'm not weak. Don't do it. I'm not going to give in. I can't..._

The prince lifted his hand, gazing at his red palm as it tingled numbly. The whole incident flashed through his mind again.

_Damn it..._

Marth slid down to the floor in a seated position, folding his arms around his knees, as hot tears streamed from his eyes.

**-------------------------------------------------**

**Captain Falcon: This chapter was just... intense.**

**Samus: (nods) It was a short one, but yet powerfully moving.**

**Captain Falcon: A good choice for a title, too. There's so many interactions here where characters 'need to talk'. **

**Samus: I hate to sound like an English teacher, but you also have to admire the parallelism between the Ice Climbers and Link and Marth, and the "image of companionship tarnished by quarreling". **

**Captain Falcon: Deep, bijoukaiba. Very deep. (thoughtful nodding)**

**Samus: Yeah, unlike her introduction of Young Link.**

**Captain Falcon: Well, she doesn't really like him. She prefers his older counterpart. Plus, the little guy doesn't really play a big part in Swordplay. That's fine by me; I can't wait for the ending in about ten chapters. And then she's got that sequel planned...!**

**Samus: Well, we won't give away too much about Hunted just yet.**

**Captain Falcon: You just did. (laughs)**

**Samus: (laughs) Thanks for reading, see you next time!**


	20. Fight, Forgive, and Forget

**Captain Falcon: Welcome to the twentieth chapter of Swordplay! We're bringing this to you from the University of Florida!**

**Samus: (looks around) That explains all the orange and blue…**

**Captain Falcon: College is very new for us all… the authoress hopes she can maintain her goal of completing Swordplay before 2010. (psst… that means in 3 months!)**

**Samus: Well, maybe the fans won't be too upset if she doesn't meet her goal. She's writing two original novels and has studying to be done as well, you know.**

**Captain Falcon: I've heard that she still intends to try her best, and that's all that matters.**

**Samus: Time to go to our special guest for disclaimer!**

**Young Link: bijoukaiba doesn't own SSBM, Nintendo, or any of its related characters and their franchises.**

**Captain Falcon: I wish we could've gotten Tim Tebow or Albert and Alberta to do the disclaimer….**

**Samus: Well, I wish we could finish this story. Moving on!**

**-----------------------**

**Chapter 20: Fight, Forgive, and Forget**

After Nana had been lectured to by Joy and Zelda, she finally understood why she had started feeling so strangely. Although she didn't explain _why_ she had changed, she did apologize to Popo. Touched, he forgave her and also apologized to her for acting so rudely Friday night. He politely offered to speak to Ness or Young Link about sharing a room with them, so she could have her own private space. Nana wasn't sure how to react, but he reassured her it was okay. Ness gave Popo the 'okay' to room with him, and Master and Joy were willing to let him switch out so Nana could have her own room. One conflict had been resolved; the other had not.

Monday morning arrived, creating a beautiful sunrise over the forest and shoreline of the Battle Royale Suites. The natural surroundings outside the building were peaceful and serene; inside, it was the opposite.

With a breakfast tray of bacon, fried eggs, and an orange, Link sat down roughly at a table with Captain Falcon and Samus.

"Hey, are you all right?" Samus asked, surprised by her friend's rough behavior.

"Peachy," Link muttered, fumbling with the peel on his orange.

The bounty hunters exchanged a look.

"Honestly, Link, is something bothering you? I remember Saturday morning, the side of your face seemed a little red…" Captain Falcon noted.

"My face… and everything… is… fine…" the Hylian seethed, dragging his knife through his eggs. The scratching sound indicated he was slicing into the plate.

Captain Falcon appeared ready to speak again, but Samus put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

Link popped a bite of eggs into his mouth, chewed silently, swallowed, and bit through half of a strip of bacon in a single chomp.

Captain Falcon leaned back in his chair silently, then turned to Samus.

"So… I hear that there'll be some new Event Matches announced today," he commented.

"Really?" Samus asked, cringing slightly as she heard Link's knife digging into his plate again.

Captain Falcon took a sip of orange juice, wiped his mouth, and nodded. "I overheard Master and Crazy talking about it. Apparently, we get matches 26-30 announced."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Captain, but isn't it rude to eavesdrop on other people?" Master asked, standing right behind the racer.

Captain Falcon glanced over his shoulder at the fighting coordinator.

"Absolutely. It angers me to no end when people listen in on conversations they didn't have any part in," Link grumbled.

Master looked oddly at Samus.

"What's with him?" he asked. The bounty huntress shrugged.

Captain Falcon's mood shifted briefly, raising a hand in a waving gesture. "Hey, Marth! There you are! Maybe you know why Link's so – "

He was cut off by Link standing up abruptly, carrying his half-eaten breakfast on his tray.

"… I've lost my appetite. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to prepare my equipment for the Event Matches today."

"But you hardly – " Samus was ignored by Link, walking up to return his tray. He happened to walk past Marth on the way up; their eyes met briefly, but Link turned away quickly. Marth lowered his eyes to the food on his tray, and sat silently by himself at a table in the corner.

"What's with _him?_" Master asked again. "Eh, why do I care? We're going to be starting the matches in a few minutes. No need to worry about some stupid soap opera."

The man who always wore a glove on his right hand strode past, leaving two confused and concerned bounty hunters sitting together.

**----------------------------------------**

Breakfast over and done with, the fighters now gathered in the ground floor of the towering building where matches were always held.

"…. Match 29 is a special fight, for Link and Zelda. And Match 30 is an All-Star fight, where we'll be needing…" Master paused, glancing around the room.

"Brother?" Crazy asked.

"… Where's Marth? We need him here. He has to learn how to fight in these matches…"

"Just talk to him later. Let somebody else fight in the matches, or get someone else to explain. Master, I want to fight in the twenty-ninth event match… if Zelda doesn't mind," Link stated.

The princess, surprised by Link's grouchy mood – she couldn't believe he was still acting this way after the weekend had passed – still agreed. The two of them stepped into the elevator to transport them to the arena. Fox waved to his girlfriend; she waved back as the doors closed. Link frowned, staring at the floor. For a brief moment, he almost wished Marth had been there to wish him luck…

No. He didn't need Marth! Both he and the prince had decided to stop spending time together.

_I don't need him._

Link closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, as the virtual arena began to take form around Zelda and himself.

Back on the ground floor, Crazy pushed a small button on the remote he kept hidden in his pocket, like he always had when a new fighter was "surprisingly" introduced.

Link opened his eyes, finding Hyrule Temple had formed around him. He could see Zelda starting to run towards him from across the temple grounds, when she halted suddenly with a surprised – horrified, rather – look on her face. The Hylian hero was confused by her progress, but it was soon made clear why. Link's eyes widened, and a surprised gasp escaped his lips. He almost dropped the Master Sword from his grip.

With a low grunt, Ganondorf lowered himself from the higher platform of the temple.

Link shook off his surprise. He couldn't be scared now. This was only a simulation. Ganondorf couldn't hurt him here. Or could he? Maybe the wizard's dark powers were too strong to be contained by the technology that prevented everyone from being injured during fights?

Ganondorf suddenly flew across the temple grounds, extending his foot in a kicking motion, as purple flames magically spurted from the attack. The blow caught Link in the stomach, knocking him backwards.

That was, ironically, a good thing; he couldn't be hurt after all. Link tightened his grip on the Master Sword and charged at his archenemy, as Zelda struck the Gerudo in the back with a Din's Fire attack.

"Way to go, Zelda!" Fox cheered.

"Now get 'im, Link!" Roy added.

Captain Falcon folded his arms, leaning from one side to another.

"Is it just me, or did that seem like a poor attempt to copy my Falcon Kick technique?" he asked.

"It's probably just you," Samus remarked, until she watched the man attempt to use a charged punch technique that released more purple flames (fortunately, Link rolled out of the way to dodge, and Zelda was nowhere in range). "Huh. Then again, I could be wrong. What's got you so fidgety, anyway?"

"I'm… going to go take a walk. If I'm not back by the time the fight's over, let me know how it went," The racer did not turn to face Samus. "… There's something I feel like I have to resolve."

**----------------------------------------**

Marth lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had no idea what to do… but he had to do something, anything, to get Link off his mind. The thought of him seemed to create the sensation of pins and needles stinging his hand. He closed his eyes as the memory came back. His vision became watery, as the ceiling appeared blurred.

_Don't do it. Not again…_

The prince shot up, startled by a knock on his door. He wiped frantically at his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but fell quiet. The knocking resumed. He had a bad feeling he knew who it was… of course, he could be wrong… but he really didn't want to take that risk…

"Marth… I know you're in there."

Captain Falcon was probably ranked near the bottom of the list of people Marth wanted to see right now. But… he wasn't at the very bottom like a certain Hylian hero.

The prince wiped at his eyes once more as he stood up. He opened the door, finding the bounty hunter waiting for him.

"Do you mind if I come in?"

"I'd prefer to be alone, thank you very much."

"In that case, I'm definitely coming in," the bounty hunter retorted, stepping inside the prince's room.

Marth frowned, but didn't protest. The prince sat on the edge of his bed; the racer took a seat in the chair in Marth's room.

"I wanted to talk to you," Captain Falcon remarked.

Marth was silent.

"About Link," the racer added.

The swordsman gripped the cover sheet of his bed tightly.

"Marth… you can't keep quiet forever."

He frowned, turning his head to stare at the wall.

"I can try."

"No, you can't. I told Ness to do, and not try. Well, I'm telling you what has to be done. You have to get over whatever happened between you and Link," Captain Falcon folded his arms, leaning back into the chair. "And I'm not leaving until you tell me what happened. You don't have to go into any minor details. I just want to know _what_ happened."

"We had a fight," Marth stated simply. "And we decided we shouldn't spend time together for a while."

"I could tell you had a fight," the bounty hunter argued. "All right, let me put it this way… what _caused _your fight?"

"Look, I answered – "

"Not leaving!"

"… Fine. There's a long story behind this, but… I went to check on Link to see if he was done speaking with Zelda in his room, when I practically heard him shout that he didn't like me. When I confronted him about it, he got angry at _me_ for eavesdropping. He said that I had gotten the wrong idea about our relationship, and I just got so angry about him saying that the time we had been spending together was such a mistake, I… I slapped him across the face."

_That would explain the red mark on the side of Link's face from Saturday…_ Captain Falcon concluded.

"Well, you know what you have to do, right?" the bounty hunter asked.

The swordsman shook his head.

"You have to apologize."

"What?!" Marth asked incredulously. "Me? After what he said about me? After everything we had been through?"

"You know, sometimes it feels like you're not the one to blame. But when you really think about it, you know that you have to have played a part in creating a conflict. You can't have a one-sided war. But the fastest way to create peace is to be the one to admit you were wrong. You may even find the other side admitting to their own faults. Trust me, I know," Captain Falcon philosophized. "How else would I have smoothed out my relationship with Samus?"

Marth lowered his eyes, then glanced up at the bounty hunter. "I just need to think about it."

"I don't think there's really much to think about. I believe this was just a big misunderstanding. I don't know exactly what Link said, but I find it hard to believe he would say he flat-out dislikes you. He's not that type of person, and besides… he's way too fond of you to hurt your feelings like that."

Marth watched silently as the bounty hunter stood up.

"I'll leave now, just as I promised. I won't tell anyone, especially Link, about our conversation. Give my advice some thought."

Captain Falcon gave Marth a gentle pat on the back, then left his room.

Marth collapsed backwards against his bed, folding his hands together.

_He's way too fond of you to hurt your feelings like that._

But how fond?

Reflecting on the past months, how could a physical fight have brought them closer together, yet a verbal dispute could drive them to opposite ends of the Earth?

The illogical manner of it all… not only logic, but something _else_ inside Marth made him think… no, he _wanted_ to think it was indeed a misunderstanding. Maybe he had heard the words wrong – the door had been closed, after all. Maybe Link had said "I don't light Mars"? Absolutely not, where was the logic in _that_? As Marth pondered all the different things that sounded like what Link had said, the more he started to think maybe it was a misunderstanding and Link didn't mean it.

The meaning.

They had been sharing a room that night, under completely unusual circumstances. Maybe Zelda had asked Link if they were involved in a romantic relationship… so of course Link would've told her no!

Link just didn't 'like' him as more than a friend! He had truly overreacted for nothing!

Marth sat up with a smile, finally realizing his problems were over.

Slowly, however, he became upset again, as realization hit him. Now he had to apologize. When could he talk to Link? Would his fellow swordsman even be willing to talk? What would he say?

The prince stood up by the foot of his bed.

"Listen, Link. I wanted to talk to you," he stated out loud.

He walked over to the head of his bed, faced the direction he had previously been standing in, and folded his arms as he did his best Link impersonation.

"Oh, really? About what?"

Marth paced back to where he had been standing before.

"I… I wanted to apologize to you about what happened Saturday," Marth replied to himself.

He walked back over to the head of the bed to do his Link impersonation again.

"Huh? And why this sudden change?"

Marth strode back to the foot of his bed, and turned to face the imaginary Link he was talking to.

"Because…"

He wanted to say, 'Because I realized you meant you don't like me as more than a friend.', but something stopped the prince.

The idea lingered in his head.

_You don't like me as more than a friend._

It wasn't the only thing on his mind.

Marth remembered waking up in the medical ward, with Link by his side – the first person he saw and spoke to at the Battle Royale Suites.

He remembered their tour of Onett, and how Link practically saved his life from that speeding car.

He remembered how Link came to comfort him after finding out his loved ones – Shiida and Elice – had been killed in an accident.

Marth remembered having a team battle together, and being so excited he had hugged Link immediately afterwards.

He remembered the incredible battle he had shared with Link, then going out to dinner and watching the shooting stars (and falling asleep) with him.

He remembered the enjoyable weekend they spent together before they had both fallen ill.

Marth remembered the dinner they had together as they observed Roy and Zelda's date, and grabbing onto Link in fear during that horror movie.

He remembered… the kiss they had shared in the snow…

He remembered the concern Link had shown when he thought he might never see him again after running away to rescue Ness.

Marth remembered celebrating Ness's first victory with Link.

He remembered waking up in Link's arms after Popo and Nana had their fight.

He remembered how painful his _own_ argument with Link had been, and how miserable he had been afterwards… and still was.

He remembered the good and bad times he had spent with Link. His closest friend.

But most of all, Marth realized he had been in denial this whole time. The months had passed, good and bad times had passed… and just now, he realized why he held all these memories so dearly.

To think, some stupid fight almost tore them away. Almost, but it hadn't succeeded. All because Marth realized why he held those times with Link so close to his heart.

A tear slid down Marth's cheek.

"_Because I love you._"

A few more tears escaped the prince; he didn't bother to wipe them away. How could he have been so stupid?

Captain Falcon was right; he had to – needed to apologize. For everything that had happened. Perhaps admitting it was his fault would bring back the old Link – the happier one that he had been friends with.

Marth didn't care if he would be forgiven or not; if he truly loved Link, all he wanted was for him to be happy.

And if his feelings were unrequited…?

He would cross that bridge when he came to it. The prince wiped his eyes, feeling much stronger than before.

His mind was made up. He would go apologize to Link, and – if he hadn't fought yet – wish him good luck for his match. It was a very simple strategy, yes; but it was better to start rebuilding their relationship slowly.

Marth checked his reflection in the mirror. His eyes didn't appear watery, a good thing, but they were still a bit red. Deciding to let it be, he smoothed out his tunic and brushed through his hair a few times with his fingers to neaten it. Satisfied, he opened the door, ready to find Link and apologize.

Ironically, he didn't have to look very far; further down the hallway, he spotted the swordsman talking to a large man Marth did not recognize.

Having learned his lesson, Marth normally wouldn't have been listening in on their conversation. However, the strange man gave off a dark vibe that sent chills down Marth's spine.

"Now, let me understand. You say everyone is a fighter here? Even those pathetic pink sponges?"

Link stared back at his enemy. "Yes, except for the people who take care of feeding us and managing entertainment. No, Kirby and Jigglypuff aren't pathetic; they've won a few matches. Everyone here has won at least a few fights."

The dark man seemed highly amused. "And so, you wish to call a truce until we return home to Hyrule?"

The Hylian made an uncertain face, but he nodded.

Much to Marth's horror, Ganondorf spat in Link's face and shoved him roughly into the wall.

"How's that for your answer?"

"You monster!" Marth ran forward and shoved the dark man aside.

Link appeared rather surprised that of all people who had come to his defense, it was the young man he hadn't spoken to for nearly three days.

Ganondorf hardly budged except for a few steps to catch his balance after stumbling.

"He offers to make peace with you, and that is how you respond? You… bastard!"

"Ganondorf," he stated, turning to face the prince. "And one should never ask me for peace. As a matter of fact, in Hyrule, it is foolish to make any attempt to confront me at all."

Marth and Ganondorf stood there silently, staring each other down, when without warning the Gerudo threw his fist forward. He caught Marth in the face, toppling the prince backward with a mighty punch.

Link caught the prince, unconscious with blood streaming from his nose.

Ganondorf threw another punch forward, but it was caught in a goldenrod-gloved hand.

"I was just coming up to my room to cool off before lunch. I didn't expect a fight to break out."

Captain Falcon!

"Break it up, both of you!" Master snapped. He stepped around the Hylian and the prince, sneering at the sight of blood on Marth's face, before separating the Gerudo from the bounty hunter.

"Ganondorf, you must understand as a new fighter here that you are not to fight outside of matches. However, Captain Falcon, you should know better."

"I didn't even throw a punch!" the bounty hunter protested.

"Because you are new, Ganondorf, I will let this incident go. Captain Falcon, you will be confined to your room for the rest of the day."

"Excuse me?! He just freaking tried to kill Marth! And you're going to let that slide? If there's someone I want to punch right now, it's certainly not _Ganondorf_!"

Master's eyes narrowed.

"Your sentence has been extended to Saturday for threatening an official of the Battle Royale Suites. You can continue to talk, Captain, but I would highly suggest you shut your mouth this instant."

The bounty hunter threw a fiery glare at the man, before walking off and slamming the door to his room. The walls seemed to shake from the force.

"Come downstairs, Ganondorf, and I'll show you to the dining room."

Master walked off with the Gerudo behind him, without even bothering to offer any help for the prince in the Hylian's arms.

Link frowned at the backs of the two men, then looked down at Marth. His nose was still bleeding a fair bit. He scooped the prince into his arms and elbowed the automatic-door switch into the medical ward.

Dr. Mario and Nurse Joy were out; likely, they were getting lunch or Joy was assigning Ganondorf to his room.

Link placed the prince onto one of the beds, propping his head up with a pillow. The Hylian shuffled through a jar of cotton balls, grabbing a handful. He also went and retrieved a box of tissues. Holding one of the cotton balls with a tissue, he gently applied pressure against Marth's nose, hoping to help stop the bleeding. The cotton ball, and the tissue shortly after, started to turn a deep red. Link used a tissue to pick up another cotton ball and held it against the prince's nose, wadding up the bloody one that had been there previously.

About five cotton balls later, Marth's bleeding had almost completely ceased. Link gathered the bloody materials and disposed of them. Seeing a red bag, he associated the color with blood and dropped them in there.

On the note of blood, Link checked his hands. There were traces of red smears on his fingers. Grimacing, he washed them off with soap and water. After drying his hands, he turned to leave… but glanced back at the prince.

He still felt bad about what had happened. He was slightly miffed that Marth had overheard his conversation with Ganondorf, but on the other hand, he might have been the one passed out with a bloody nose – or even worse – if Marth hadn't stepped in.

He returned to sit by the prince's side, now wiping away smeared blood from Marth's face. Around his mouth, down his cheek, a few spots on his lips…

With his face cleaned, Link placed the tissue aside. He let a bare finger graze the side of the prince's face.

Sure, he had been upset at Marth before – when he wanted to back down out of a fight, or when he went to go look for Ness alone, for example. But for some reason, being this close to him made him forget anything negative, especially considering everything that had just happened fifteen or twenty minutes ago.

The prince stirred; Link pulled his hand back. Marth opened his eyes and turned his head toward Link.

"Oh… hi," Marth whispered.

"… Hi," Link replied softly.

"… I always seem to end up in the medical ward, don't I?" Marth asked, as he forced himself to sit up.

Link smirked, but didn't reply.

"You're okay, right? That man… Ganondorf? He didn't hurt you, did –"

"Why did you do something like that? If Captain Falcon and Master hadn't come along, there's no telling what would've happened to you!"

"I could say the very same thing to you!" Marth protested. "If I hadn't stepped in, there's no telling what Ganondorf would've done to – "

In a twist of fate, Marth was silenced by a slap across the face.

"That's the thing! You got off lucky with a bloody nose! You don't know what Ganondorf is capable of, so there's no telling what he would've done to you!" the Hylian clutched the prince's shoulders. "After I fought him, the first thing I worried about was what he could do to my friends… to you!"

Link faced the prince, frustrated. There was a red spot on Marth's cheek from where he had been struck. Maybe that had been a bad idea, to strike someone of royal descent… Marth still had a look of shock on his face from being slapped. He was probably going to be in for one hell of a retaliation. Sure enough, Marth moved suddenly. Link flinched, expecting a surprise hit.

Indeed, it was a surprising move; Marth threw his arms around Link's neck and collapsed against him, his forehead on the Hylian's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Marth whispered against Link's collarbone. "I'm sorry for _everything._ I shouldn't have been listening to your conversation with Zelda. I shouldn't have hit you. I shouldn't have gotten involved in your talk with Ganondorf. I'm so sorry."

Link was still in a bit of shock from the impact. He shifted a bit to embrace Marth, wrapping his arms around the slender prince's torso.

"It's… it's not your fault. Maybe I should've kept my voice lower when I was talking to Zelda, since I wanted to speak with her privately. And maybe I should've been more careful with what I said to you that morning." He pulled Marth a little closer. "I'm sorry too. I deserved to get slapped for what I said to you."

Marth pulled back from Link a little bit. "It's okay," he said with a smile. "We're even now."

"Goddesses, I'm sorry about that too!" Link exclaimed. He placed his hand gently over the red spot on the side of Marth's face. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Marth's entire face turned redder. "No, it's fine. Really."

Link didn't speak, but nodded. Before he could remove his hand from the side of Marth's face, the prince reached up and held it there.

"Link…" Marth looked up into the Hero's eyes. "What am I to you?"

The Hylian appeared to think for a moment, then smiled. "You're the best friend I have here. I think you are one of the most… amazing persons I have ever met, Marth." He used his free hand to brush some of the prince's bangs away from his eyes. "What am I to you?"

Marth was silent. He already knew that Link thought of him as his closest friend. Why did he hesitate to say so? Maybe he just needed to find the wording. Or maybe… there was something he didn't want to say. There was only one way to know, Marth decided as he felt his heart hammering inside him. He had to tell him now.

"You're wonderful, Link. And I say this because…" Marth took a deep breath as he felt his heart leap into his throat.

"Let-a me tell you, I have-a never tasted a finer-a Panini," Dr. Mario commented to Nurse Joy.

Marth and Link quickly slipped out of each other's arms before they had actually been spotted.

"Hello, guys," Joy commented, surprised at the sight of Marth in bed and Link seated nearby. "I noticed you hadn't been getting along over the weekend. We didn't have a serious fight, did we?"

"Not at all," Marth replied. He exchanged a look with Link. "As a matter of fact, we made out and we're friends again."

"You mean you made _up_," Joy corrected, trying to stifle a laugh. "Well, I'm just glad to see you two spending time together again."

"I just had a bit of a headache… and Marth had a nosebleed, so while we took care of ourselves here, we started talking about what went wrong," Link stated, even though he had lied on his part.

Still, the medical duo seemed convinced, and let them leave.

Standing out in the hallway alone together, Link asked, "So… what were you going to say before?"

"Hmm?"

"You said I was wonderful, and you were about to say why," Link commented.

The Hylian had such a handsome smile; it made Marth's insides melt away, like his courage. "Because you're my best friend, too."

Link placed a hand against Marth's back. "You're probably tired of eating alone. How about I save a seat for you at dinner?"

"I'd love that, thank you," the prince replied as calmly as he could.

"Great! I'm going to head down and see what's happening with the Event Matches. Wanna come?" Link asked.

"No thanks," Marth shook his head. "A lot has happened this afternoon, so I really want to just nap it off."

The Hylian gave a small wave of his hand, before heading downstairs. Marth went back into his room, closing his door behind him. He kicked off his boots and reclined upon his bed. He glanced to his side, where his green tunic was easily visible in the closet. Just seeing the color green gave him chills now.

Stupid cowardice. Damn shyness.

Now he _knew_ he was in love with Link.

**------------------------------------------------------**

**Captain Falcon: Well. That's certainly something. (glances at Samus) Why can't we have a scene like that?**

**Samus: Because I'm not going to fall in love with you, that's why.**

**Captain Falcon: (muttering under his breath) Yeah, right. (now in an angrier tone) Damn it! I really hate Master… not to mention Ganondorf!**

**Samus: Oh, that's why you left and why I didn't get any screen time after that?**

**Captain Falcon: Yes, because I probably stopped Ganondorf from killing Marth and Master goes and punishes me.**

**Samus: What? He can't treat you like that!**

**Captain Falcon: Oh? Since when do you care?**

**Samus: … Well… because… (blushing slightly)**

**Captain Falcon: (laughs) Well?**

**Samus: Caring about someone is not the same as loving them, so shut up!**

**Captain Falcon: (quiets down) True. Speaking of caring, please give the authoress a round of applause. She actually wrote the part where 'breakfast was finished and Link was preparing to fight' through to the part where Marth first saw Ganondorf this morning. And when I say this morning, ****I mean from 12:30 am to 4:41 am.**

**Samus: I do admire someone who puts in that much effort. I think she's also been working to finish this chapter for the past four hours, too!**

**Captain Falcon: (nods) Yes, bijoukaiba says she's puts so much work into her stories because she's inspired by all the effort I put into everything.**

**Samus: … right. Anyway, we hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter of Swordplay.**

**Captain Falcon: Remember, we've only got about 10 chapters to go!**


	21. Revisited

**Captain Falcon: (in pajamas) She's actually still up? She's starting this chapter at nearly 2:30 in the morning!**

**Samus: (in pajamas) She had a burst of inspiration and wanted to go for it.**

**Captain Falcon: How so?**

**Samus: (yawns) She finally figured out what to name this chapter.**

**Captain Falcon: … That's it?**

**Samus: That, and she also figured out how to connect two 'plot points' in this chapter. She says it'll be exciting.**

**Captain Falcon: It better. If I woke up at 2 in the morning for nothing, I'm going to… **

**Samus: … Well, seeing as no one else in the world is awake to do the disclaimer, I'll do it. ****Bijoukaiba claims no ownership of Nintendo, SSBM, or any of its related characters and their respective franchises.**

**Captain Falcon: Sorry to have kept everyone waiting!**

**Samus: Enjoy the chapter! **

* * *

**Chapter 21: Revisited**

Saturday could not come soon enough for Captain Falcon. Finally, at last, he was free from his room. For so long, he had wanted to get back into the action of fighting, to spend time with his friends, with Samus. He had to spend his time sleeping, reading, or watching television, and it grew rather boring within the first four hours. He often found himself at the window during the week, gazing outside. All the snow had melted, and the temperatures had perked up rather nicely from all the sunny weather they had been getting.

He stepped out of his 'prison cell' Saturday morning, looking around as if he were expecting to see some major changes in his surroundings. Yet everything appeared exactly as it had before.

Screw the boring hallways; there was only one thing on Captain Falcon's mind.

He went over to Room 12 and knocked on the door. It opened, revealing a prince who appeared delighted to see him.

"Captain! Good morning, it's nice to see you again!"

"Likewise," the racer replied.

"Thanks for your advice. Earlier in the week, I mean. I finally made out – " The prince blushed and corrected himself. "Made _up_ with Link, and we're back to being friends."

"Well, that's good to hear. I know it's rather soon to ask, but I'd like you to do me a favor. It's an easy one, don't worry."

"Sure, anything," Marth complied.

The racer smirked. "Check your wardrobe. There should be swim trunks or a swimsuit of some type. I want you to help me gather everyone for a trip to the beach."

* * *

The waves grazed the shore peacefully. The beach was a serene place to be that morning.

And then bare feet raced across the hot sand to splash into the cold water. Whoops and loud laughter filled the air, the tops of several beach umbrellas reached up to the sky, and the beach became a loud, enjoyable gathering.

Ness, Popo, Nana, and the younger Link hit the water first thing. The first boy dove underwater briefly, then resurfaced.

"Ahhh, wow!" Ness marveled, brushing his wet bangs away from his face. "I haven't been to the beach since my family took that trip to Summers…"

"I've _never_ been to the beach before," Nana commented, exchanging a look with Popo. "The only time I ever went swimming was in a heated pool."

"Same," her companion added.

Back on the shore, Luigi stretched out underneath an umbrella, resting on a green towel. Fox McCloud had taken up his company, reclining on an orange towel.

"I've missed the warm weather," the pilot commented to the plumber. "Sure, I'll probably go swimming later, but for right now, I just want a sun-powered warm nap."

"I'll-a say," Luigi agreed, glancing to his side.

A rather simple volleyball net had been set up, and eight people had gathered around.

"So, should-a I explain how to play, or-a you?" Mario asked the bounty hunter beside him.

"Eh, I explained baseball. How about Peach?" Captain Falcon replied, glancing over at the princess.

"Oh, well… I guess so," she replied. Zelda, Link, Roy, and Marth sat patiently, awaiting someone to explain the rules.

"All right, well… this game is typically played on a court… I mean, it can be a court with like a hard floor, but 'court' can also refer to the sand…"

"Put it this way," Samus stated. "There's two teams, and you have to hit the ball over the net. You get a point if the other team doesn't hit it back, and the ball hits the ground."

"Oh, okay," Zelda agreed with a nod.

"All right, then let's set up teams," Peach agreed. "Oh, but don't forget, you guys should put on some sunscreen."

She jogged away briefly, before returning with two bottles in her hands.

"You need to put this on your skin. It's a special lotion that prevents sunburn. Which, as you can probably tell, is a burn caused by overexposure to the sun. I can't tell you any special scientific reasons as to how this stuff works, but… think of it as a 'force-field' against the sun."

"Cool," Roy commented, slathering a blotch over his shoulder.

The princess of Hyrule squirted some of the lotion into her hand, and began to rub it on her arms and the exposed areas of her front.

She passed the bottle along to Link, who took a squirt and began lathering it over his torso.

"Hey, Marth," he passed the bottle to the prince. "Would you get my back for me? I'll do your back in exchange,"

"Oh, very well," Marth replied, fumbling with the bottle. He lathered the lotion in his hands to warm it up before applying it to Link's back. The prince lightly placed his hands against the Hero's back and began to rub.

"Your hands are soft," Link murmured low enough for only Marth to hear.

"Thanks?" Marth replied, trying to keep his emotions under control. It would have been a difficult task for anyone, running their hands over the back of someone they were in love with…

Of course, who should have gone walking by but Bowser and Ganondorf, looking for some solitude in the socializing atmosphere?

"Excuse me, guys, would you…" Bowser's voice trailed off and he shook his head. "Oh, never mind."

"What is it?" Link asked. He nearly snapped at them, particularly at the sight of Ganondorf.

"I was going to ask if this was where I could get some sunscreen, but I guess not… it only looks like sensual massages are given out here."

He snickered with Ganondorf.

Link folded his arms. "Haha, very funny. Why don't you just leave us alone? I know you prefer being nowhere near us. Why don't you go make-out somewhere?"

Ganondorf growled, balling a hand into a fist, until he caught sight of six other fighters glaring at him. In Hyrule, he could have just jumped forward and snapped their necks; however, in this strange world, his powers had been diminished somehow. Therefore, at an eight to one disadvantage, the Gerudo decided it was best to glare at them one more time before skulking off with the Koopa king.

Link turned around to look at Marth. "Here, I should probably get your sunscreen on now… you've turned a bright red color."

The prince fidgeted with the bottle, passing it to Link, who applied the lotion to his hands before running them down the prince's back and shoulders, his fingertips tickling his skin.

Link chuckled as Marth shivered. "Sorry… I should've warned you that the lotion would be cold."

"It's not the lotion," the prince mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Just rub the lotion," Marth spoke up. "You know, between your hands. That will… warm it up."

"Oh, okay."

"But you don't have to!" the prince stammered quickly, standing up. "I think I have enough lotion on."

Link wiped off the extra lotion on his swim trunks and also stood up.

"So, how shall we assign teams?" Zelda asked.

"Hmmm…" Captain Falcon folded his arms in thought. "How about you and I, with Mario and Samus… against Peach, Roy, Marth, and Link?"

"We can take ya!" Link taunted, ruffling Marth's hair affectionately with that statement.

"Wait, time-out!" Marth declared, blushing faintly. "I have to fix my hair!"

"That's-a not a very good – " Mario started to protest.

Marth jogged off, heading back towards the Suites. "… I have to go to the bathroom!!" he called over his shoulder.

"Then… go in the water…" Roy muttered. Everyone watched the prince, puzzled by his sudden retreat. "What's with him?"

"Here, I'll sit out for now," Samus stated. "That way, it'll be even."

She walked off the court, past Captain Falcon.

"Whatever you say," the racer remarked.

For a moment she appeared disgruntled about not having a proper seat, but finally sat down on the sand.

"Okay, Zelda, here's how you'll want to hit the ball," Captain Falcon stated, walking towards the princess.

Samus smiled as she watched the racer adjust the princess's arms, guiding her through a few motions as though she were hitting an invisible ball."

"Remember, let more of the force come from your legs, not your arms. Don't lace your fingers, either… if you get hit in the hands, it'll really hurt!"

Peach held up the volleyball. "Here, I'll serve first. If the other team returns the ball, I want one of you guys to try to hit it back."

The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom struck the ball, sending it sailing over the net in a graceful arch. Mario was ready on the other side, batting it back up over the net.

"It's coming to you, Link! Hit it!"

The Hylian hero raised his hands above his head and batted the ball back to the other team, barely missing the net.

"Heads-a up, Zelda!" Mario called.

Remembering how Captain Falcon showed her how to hit the ball, the Hylian princess returned the ball to the other side of the net.

"I did it!" Zelda exclaimed.

"Nice job!" Captain Falcon complimented. "Now let's pick up-the-pace!" He sped up his last few words as he dove to save the ball from crashing into the sand. Mario used the racer's assist to bat the ball back over the net.

"Try to spike it," Peach instructed Roy as she volleyed the ball back over the net. "You try to hit the ball down into the ground on the other side of the net."

Zelda had returned the volley and the ball was sailing towards Link now. He batted it up into the air, flying towards Roy.

"Like this?" the fiery-haired swordsman asked as he leapt up and practically punched the ball down to the other side.

However, the volleyball did not make contact with the sand; it struck Captain Falcon square in the face and he fell over backwards with a grunt.

"Oops."

"… Well, you've… got the arm motions down right…" Peach remarked.

Link, Mario, and Samus could only stare in shock as the Princess of Hyrule helped Captain Falcon sit up.

"Are you all right?" Zelda asked, noticing a small stream of blood trickle from his nose.

"Damn it, Roy! That hurt!" he got to his feet and started running after the young lord. It was a pretty humorous sight to watch the red-head being chased by the brunette. Samus couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"What'd I miss?" asked a voice behind her. Marth knelt down in the sand next to Samus.

"Volleyball game was cancelled. There was an injury which resulted in a game of chase instead." She smiled, turning to the prince. "So, I heard this morning they laid out new tiles in everyone's bathrooms."

"Huh? Oh, yes. They were a very pretty green color."

Samus smirked. "Marth… the first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and wash my face in the bathroom."

"Uh… wait, what?"

She folded her arms, the same smirk on her face. "You're a pretty bad liar, Marth." The bounty huntress stood up, holding out her hand to him. "Walk with me."

The prince took it and got to his feet. Releasing his hand, Samus walked next to the prince along the shore.

"What is it with you?" the bounty huntress asked. "I've never seen you act so strangely before. Why the sudden change?"

"Well, I have this friend who – "

Samus stopped suddenly, her hands on her hips. "Don't bother lying, Marth. Like I said, you're not very good at it."

The prince's eyes met hers, before lowering his gaze to the sand.

"Okay, fine. You won't tell anyone?"

"I swear I won't tell anyone." She resumed walking again with her confirmation. Marth picked up his pace to keep up with her.

"I… I think I'm in love with someone…" the prince admitted, blushing.

Samus stopped a few steps ahead of the prince, turning around abruptly to face him.

"You are?"

"Yes… but I don't know if this 'someone' loves me back… or if that person even would, given the circumstances…" Marth sighed.

"Well, I don't know what these circumstances are. I guess it would depend on whoever you have feelings for…" she let her voice trail off as she noticed Marth blushing a bit more than before, but he was frowning. "It's okay, I won't ask. But I suppose you have to really ask yourself if those 'circumstances' are really as serious as you think. That person might also have feelings for you too, but they keep them bottled up because… well, like I said, it depends on WHO you love, but the same circumstances might be keeping you from admitting your feelings. Maybe you and this person are afraid to admit you like each other because of social class – like how you're royalty and maybe the other person isn't, so you both can't help but feel like you shouldn't be together. Something like that."

"Actually, that's part of it…" Marth admitted shyly. "So… what do I do about it?"

Samus bit her lip. "I… I'm not sure." They started walking again.

The prince noticed her awkward gesture.

"Samus…" he addressed, looking her in the eyes. "Can I ask you something? As in, ask YOU something. And just like I was honest with you, you have to be honest with me."

She nodded, looking up at the horizon as she waited to take in the swordsman's question. She failed to notice the prince had stopped a few steps behind her.

"… Have you ever loved someone, Samus? I mean, anytime? At all?"

The bounty huntress froze suddenly in mid-step. It felt like someone had plunged an icy knife into her back.

The question had brought back _their_ faces, _his_ face in her memory.

"… Yes." Samus answered softly, much to the prince's surprise. "… But that was a long time ago."

Suddenly, she turned and ran past the prince, back towards the Suites.

"Samus?" Marth asked. He thought for a moment to run after her, but decided it might upset her further. The prince sighed, walking back to the beach to be with his friends.

* * *

"You're sure you're not in any pain?" Zelda asked.

Captain Falcon, who was now sitting on a beach chair with his head tilted forward, removed the bloodied tissue from his nose to speak with Zelda.

"Yeah. I stopped bleeding a while ago, I should be fine." He grinned. "You know, for a princess, you seem to prefer taking care of people, more than having them take care of you."

"As a princess, it is my duty to make sure the inhabitants of my kingdom are living as happily as possible. I would be so broken-hearted if anything bad were to befall my kingdom and its people…" her voice trailed off as she glanced over at Ganondorf, who had just crushed the 'hill' of sand Pichu had built.

Captain Falcon followed her gaze, frowned at the Gerudo, but smiled back at the princess.

"As long as they have a brave hero to protect their lands and a princess who's willing to put up a fight, I'm sure you won't have to worry about that. You care a lot about other people, don't you?"

Spotting Samus walking past, Captain Falcon smiled and commented loudly, "I like that in a lady!"

He expected her to laugh or shake her head at him. Much to Captain Falcon's surprise, she glared at him before running back to the Suites.

"Was it something I said?" he asked Zelda, who appeared equally surprised by Samus's cold reaction.

The racer collected his towel and got to his feet, following the huntress back to the building.

* * *

"Well, so much for a fun day at the beach," Samus muttered, pulling a simple tee shirt on over her head. Her reflection stared back at her from the mirror; however, the _way_ it stared back seemed different.

_You know what he said. You can't forget about him. _

Samus frowned, straightening her shirt, focusing her eyes on her hands. A light knock came at the door.

"Hey, it's… me. Can we talk?"

She recognized the voice of her fellow bounty hunter from the other side.

"I… I don't know what I said or did to upset you… but I'm sorry," apologized the voice through the door.

Samus shook her head and opened the door.

"Always playing the gentleman, huh?"

Captain Falcon flashed a smile. "I try."

"No problem. I'd tell you more, but… it's hard to explain, and…" her eyes lowered to the floor. "… well, it sort of hurts to talk about it."

Concern showed in the Captain's eyes, but he did not speak.

"Well, it must nearly be noon!" Samus remarked, changing the subject. Her mood also changed, from sullen to sprightly. "I think some of our friends packed a picnic for us at the beach. It'd be rude to keep them waiting, so we better go get some lunch!"

* * *

The rest of the day went by normally after a sunny day at the beach. Ruby prepared a variety of seafood based dishes – seared ahi tuna, fried shrimp, crab cakes, and even a few samplings of calamari that could drive any connoisseur crazy – for their dinner that night, with chilled sodas, lemonade, and iced tea available for drinking.

Considering all the fun everyone had at the beach, it was no wonder why the fighters were also quick to sleep that night. Cozy under the covers, the different fighters drifted off to sleep, in the hopes of pleasant dreams and an equally exciting day to follow.

For Samus, this was not the case.

She found herself standing in the main hall of the Galactic Federation's headquarters, several years younger with shorter hair.

"Your performance on your exams were excellent," commented one of the officers seated before her. "Not many applicants find themselves in the position you're in right now."

"Thank you, sir." she replied.

"We have decided to accept you into the Federation Police. You will begin your service immediately. Commander Malkovich?"

A man roughly in his late twenties or early thirties rose, clad in the gray-blue uniform of the Federation. His chin was square, his build was fairly rugged, and his eyes held a cold look.

"Yes, sir?" he asked.

"We will be placing Samus Aran under your command."

Malkovich did not say anything, but gave a nod of confirmation. His eyes were now locked with Samus's. For a brief moment, she thought she saw a small smile cross his face, but her attention was drawn back to the chairmen when they addressed her.

"Remember that tomorrow morning, you are to report to your Commanding Officer, Miss Aran. For now, you are dismissed."

Samus jerked awake, startled by what she had just seen in her dream. For so long she had been working to push past those painful memories, to use them to grow stronger… and now she was being revisited by them in her dreams, her past haunting her. 'Papa' and 'Mama', Old Bird, and…

She closed her eyes and released a heavy sigh.

* * *

Marth was awakened abruptly by loud, powerful knocks hammering against his door.

Still half-asleep, he was also 'half-surprised' someone would want to see him so late at night. With a yawn, he opened the door, expecting one of his friends to be standing outside.

He certainly didn't expect a massive gloved hand to wrap itself around his body and yank him into the hall. Was it the same one he had seen during the Classic matches? Judging by the tight grip it held on his body, it certainly didn't want to engage in a fight for sport.

"Help!" Marth called at the top of his lungs. "Link! Captain Falcon! Luigi! Somebody, HELP ME!"

The gloved hand kept a firm grip on the squirming prince, hovering down the staircase.

"_HELP ME!_" Marth shouted again, as the hand hovered down the hallway of the second floor, heading towards the other staircase.

"PLEASE, ANYBODY! HELP ME!!" Marth cried out, thrashing madly in the grip of the hand. As though angered by his struggling, it gave him a firm squeeze. The prince released a heavy gasp, feeling his body crushed in the grip of the monstrous glove.

As he caught his breath, the hand adjusted its hold on the prince to cover his face with its index finger. Now he couldn't see _where_ this thing was taking him, but Marth did hear the door open, the waves against the shore, and he could feel a cool breeze. He remained silent, fearfully wondering where the mysterious hand was taking him.

A few minutes later, he heard a door creak and slam shut again. The hand carried him further, until he heard another door open and close again. The prince was cruelly thrown to the ground with a grunt. He pulled himself onto his hands and knees, examining his surroundings.

He appeared to be in some kind of dark room, with blue light streaming in so he could see. There were two figures in front of him; at first he couldn't discern them, but once his eyes adjusted to the light, the sight was overwhelming.

Shiida. Elice.

They were both still alive. All this time… Master had said they were killed in an accident… had he been wrong all along?

"Sister… Shiida…" Marth's voice quivered with emotion.

"_You failed!" _someone or something was speaking to Marth. The voice sounded so familiar, but he couldn't quite place the voice.

"I… I'm sorry?" the prince asked. "I don't understand… what's going on?"

"_It's just like I warned you…"_ much to the prince's horror, he watched as the large hand – was it the same one? – emerged from the shadows behind the two women he held dearly. It appeared to have another figure trapped in its grasp and it dropped the person to the ground viciously. Marth his heart leap into his throat.

"Link!" the prince gasped.

The Hylian was wheezing heavily on his knees with his arms bound behind his back, sporting small wounds all over his body. His favorite green tunic now had shreds torn from it.

"Link!!" Marth called again, trying to make his voice clearer. The other swordsman still did not respond. The prince attempted to move forward, when suddenly he was caught by what seemed to be the same gloved hand that had brought him to this mysterious room. So there were _two_ giant hands?

"_All it takes is a sword and…_" Much to Marth's horror, the other hand that had thrown Link to the floor now held Falchion between its index finger and thumb like a toothpick. The tip of the blade was now poised underneath Link's chin.

"Please, stop! You don't know what you're doing!! This shouldn't be happening!" Marth begged, tears starting to pool in his eyes.

"We know," replied a second voice, seeming much louder. It almost seemed like the hand itself was speaking to him. "In fact, this should've happened a long time ago, but it's come to this."

The second voice certainly seemed calmer and more mature than the other one. The shouting made the first voice seem insane, crazy by comparison.

"What are you trying to say?" Marth asked, struggling to free himself. The hand's grip was firm though. It shifted a finger to hold Marth's head in place. Now his gaze was fixated on his injured friend – the one he secretly loved – and he couldn't look away.

"We shouldn't have to do this. _We _shouldn't have to do this," the voice restated. "And do you know why, Marth?"

A strangled sob escaped Marth as he heard Link groan, Falchion's tip prodding gently against the underside of his chin.

"No… no…" the prince whimpered.

"… _YOU were supposed to kill him!"_ the other voice shrieked in rage.

Marth _screamed_ Link's name, tears pouring down his face, as he watched the blade drag across Link's throat. Blood seeped heavily from the wounds, staining his green tunic – the darker the blood stains became, the paler the Hylian's face turned. Link collapsed forward in a puddle of blood, dead, and all Marth could do was weep, still screaming the name of his beloved.


	22. One Remains

**Samus: (gently shakes Captain Falcon awake) Get up!**

**Captain Falcon: (yawn) Huh… what? **

**Samus: Something's happened, there's an emergency! Last chapter…**

**Captain Falcon: (gasps) We forgot to end the episode!**

**Samus: Chapter. But yes! And that's not the only thing that happened…**

**Captain Falcon: (reads through the end of Chapter 21, then gasps) Wait… WHAT? Let's introduce this chapter quickly so everyone can read!**

**Samus and Captain Falcon: ****bijoukaiba claims no ownership of Nintendo, the Super Smash Brothers series, or any of its related characters and their respective franchises.**

**Samus: We're starting to sound like a couple… (shakes head) Enj… well, I guess I can't really tell the reader to 'enjoy', considering what happened last chapter.**

**Captain Falcon: So, uh… thanks for reading, everyone?**

**Chapter 22: One Remains**

"_Why…_" Marth sobbed. His emotions of sorrow suddenly turned to rage. "_Why did you do this to him? To me?_"

He glared up at the hand hovering over Link's body. His eyes were red from tears and fury. "And what about the others? What happened to them?"

"We have our… reasons…" the hand answered.

A low roar rumbled behind the gloved hand. A large, scaly foot stepped forth. A dragon? The rest of the creature's body was hidden by the shadows. The prince was too intent to stare at the mysterious creature to notice the hand that had previously held him had now released him.

"What is…" Marth yelped as the creature reached out a clawed hand and pinned him to the ground. It felt like his bones were being crushed. The prince stared up in terror at two red eyes glowing in the dark.

"That…" stated the hand that had previously gripped Marth. "… will be the demise of you and your little friends."

The creature applied more weight to its clawed hand. Marth cried out as he felt several of his ribs crack. It was getting harder to breathe… now he feared he might have punctured or crushed a lung.

"But… why?" Marth wheezed. "What do you want from us?"

"Oh, Marth, were you always so blind?" the hand mocked.

Everything began to fade into black. It seemed death was taking its toll on the prince. He felt the creature shaking his body within its wretched grasp.

"Open your eyes and wake up, Marth!" the hand declared.

Oddly, his voice seemed to be much clearer than before. Was this something that happened right before a person died?

"_Marth…_ wake up! Look at me. Open your eyes, Marth!"

The prince opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the ceiling. He panted, recalling the horrific events he had just witnessed. But how… who…

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head.

"_Link!"_ a relieved smile passed over Marth's face. As he looked up at the confused Hylian, the image of his friend covered in blood flashed through the prince's mind. Marth's smile disappeared as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Marth threw his arms around Link, burying his face in his shoulder. "You're okay… I was so scared… I thought you were…"

The Hylian blushed, but he gently patted the other boy's head. "It's all right, Marth. I'm okay, see?" Link started rubbing Marth's back comfortingly. "You were screaming in your sleep. You woke us up."

"Us?" Marth asked, looking up at the blond. Sure enough, behind Link, he could make out the forms of Captain Falcon and Luigi standing in the dark room. Embarrassed, the prince quickly pulled himself upright and out of Link's arms.

"Yeah… it's not exactly the most pleasant way to wake up, with someone screaming at two in the morning…" the racer grumbled. "I don't know what happened, but… it was _just_ a dream, Marth."

"I don't-a know," Luigi mused. "I've had my share of bad-a dreams too. Ghosts and-a Bowser and-a all sorts of stuff, but as long as I've lived-a with my brother, he's never told-a me anything about screaming in-a my sleep. I don't think-a this was an ordinary bad-a dream."

"What did you see?" Link asked the prince. "In your dream, I mean."

Marth frowned. He'd only been awake for a few minutes… yet he had already forgotten so much of what had happened?

"I don't really remember…." the prince admitted. "I just remember seeing Link… seeing you…" Marth struggled to finish his statement, still uncomfortable with the one image that remained frozen in his memory. "… covered with blood. _Dead._"

The Hylian made an uncomfortable sound, and even Captain Falcon and Luigi grew uneasy at the idea.

"I guess seeing something like that in my dreams would freak me out too," Captain Falcon admitted. "But I still don't think you have to worry – "

"But what if it _means_ something?" Marth asked worriedly. "Ness told me he and Zelda went to the beach after having a dream about it, and that was when they found me!"

"Well, Zelda and Ness certainly aren't here, are they?" Captain Falcon argued. "If they were also freaking out about a dream with Link covered in blood, I think we'd all be a lot more worried."

The bounty hunter was silent for a moment, then released an exasperated sigh. "I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm sorry. It's just that I really want a good night's rest."

"I wouldn't have screamed in my sleep if I could've helped it, either," Marth replied. "Sorry for waking you guys up."

The bounty hunter and the plumber stepped out of the prince's room, softly closing the door behind them.

"Try and get some sleep, okay?" Link reassured. He turned around on the bed to stand up, only to feel Marth still clinging gently to the back of his pajamas.

"Please don't leave me just yet," Marth sighed quietly.

A look of concern passed over Link's face, though the prince couldn't see his expression in the dark.

"… It was really that bad, huh?"

"…" Marth turned his head away from the Hylian.

"Look at me," he ordered gently. Link softly cupped the sides of Marth's face with both his hands, turning the prince toward him. "I'm all right. Nothing is going to happen to me. Or you, for that matter."

Link pulled Marth into another embrace.

"You promise?" Marth asked against his shoulder.

"I promise. In fact…"

Still holding the prince in his arms, Link shifted himself so he was seated against the headboard of the bed, allowing Marth to recline in his arms.

"… I'll stay here with you until you fall asleep."

Marth blushed, embarrassed. "Oh, you don't have to…"

"I want to. I want you to know everything will still be all right in the morning, okay? Now… just close your eyes, and think happy, peaceful thoughts."

Marth closed his eyes, smiling into Link's shoulder.

Happy, peaceful thoughts? He thought to himself that maybe, just maybe, there was hope that Link loved him back.

A small amount of light through the blinds awakened Marth the next morning. The sky outside appeared to be a royal blue with hints of orange streaking the clouds, a sign the sun was just starting to come up.

He expected to find himself tucked comfortably under the covers, his head cushioned by his plush pillows. Instead, he realized was sleeping _on_ Link, his head tucked underneath Link's chin, and the Hylian's arms wrapped around him, his hands resting against the small of his back.

Careful not to wake the blond hero, Marth gently shifted his head out from under his chin and sat up a little straighter. He smiled at the sight of his beloved sleeping peacefully. Sure enough, everything was still 'all right' that morning.

The prince waved his hand briefly in front of Link's eyes, making sure he was truly asleep. Marth sighed in relief, whispering his thoughts in front of the blond hero.

"Thank you for staying. I wish you knew how much it means to me, just like how I…" Marth blushed, then leaned forward to give the sleeping Hylian a quick, gentle kiss on the lips. "… I wish you knew how much I love you."

Leaning his head back, he checked the time on the clock by his bed. It was only six-thirty; another hour or two of sleep couldn't hurt. Marth rested his head against Link's shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Marth,"

Someone gently squeezed his shoulder.

"C'mon, sleepyhead," Link chuckled. "It's half past eight. We should eat breakfast soon."

The prince yawned softly, lifting his head. Link had an arm wrapped around his shoulders, and his head was still resting against the Hylian's shoulder.

"Good morning," he greeted sleepily, a dreamy look still in his eyes.

"Morning," Link replied, helping the prince sit up. "And see? I'm still here."

Of course, it hadn't been Link's intention to doze off while cradling the prince that night, but they had both gotten their rest… why should it matter where they had slept?

"I'm going to get dressed now. Why don't you change too, and I'll join you for breakfast?" the Hylian offered.

The prince nodded in agreement, climbing out of bed and walking over to his wardrobe. Link stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him so Marth had privacy to change. What color tunic to wear today? Perhaps white would be a nice color today. Marth brushed his teeth, combed through his hair, and neatly applied his tiara.

He stepped out of his room, greeted by Link (clad in his blue tunic), and went down for breakfast.

Ruby had prepared scrambled eggs for everyone, and it was greatly enjoyed. Apple, grape, and pineapple juices were available for drinking, as well as milk and hot tea.

"Morning, Captain," Marth greeted, as he took a seat across from the bounty hunter. Link sat beside the prince, across from where – who else? – Samus was seated. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept all right. Went right back to sleep after crawling into bed," the racer turned to the woman seated beside him. "How about you?"

Samus shrugged, and for the first time Captain Falcon noticed that she appeared a bit tired.

"I slept so-so. No big deal," Samus admitted. Her expression seemed to suggest otherwise; she appeared troubled by something. "I just had a few weird dreams last night."

"About what…?" Marth was the one who appeared troubled now, casting a glance at Link.

"Oh, it's okay. You… you wouldn't understand. It had something to do with my past…"

_There's nothing to fear. We look different… but inside… we have the same 'heart' that you do, so be at ease…_

The voice from one of her dreams replayed through Samus's mind, from one of her earliest memories…

"… Samus?" Captain Falcon's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, picking up her empty plate of food to return to the washing line.

"It's fine. I… I just have to prepare for my match now."

Two confused swordsmen and a bounty hunter watched her walk off.

"But… your match isn't for a few hours…" Captain Falcon remarked quietly.

Because of the uneven number of fighters, Jigglypuff was the random fighter granted a 'free day' for the matches to proceed normally.

"Jiggly jig jigpuff ig Jiggly igpuff puff jig iggly," (Sometimes I wonder if Master doesn't want me to fight,) Jigglypuff sighed sadly.

"Aw, don't feel bad, Jigglypuff!" Roy tried to reassure. "Just wait until the next time you fight… if you do a knock-out job, why, I'm sure Master will realize he took you for granted!"

The balloon-like Pokemon gave the swordsman a smile, before turning to watch the matches unfold.

Marth and Zelda were first, in a rematch at Onett. Just like in the previous fight, Marth came out victorious. Zelda couldn't help but notice how Marth had eagerly run over to Link, as though excited to talk about the fight, but then suddenly seemed quieter and a bit more timid in the presence of the Hero, as though he were experiencing some sort of shyness…? Her thoughts were interrupted by Fox placing an arm around her shoulders and 'consoling' her for a loss; she knew he just wanted a little affection, so she returned the gesture and thanked the pilot for his support.

Yoshi and Luigi were next, with the green dinosaur falling (literally) in defeat to the green-clad plumber at the Rainbow Cruise. It was after this fight that Captain Falcon noticed Crazy appeared slightly antsy while watching the fight, squirming as though he was waiting for something. Master elbowed his brother, glaring back at Captain Falcon.

The bounty hunter was about to walk over and ask why Crazy was acting so strangely, when he felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Excuse me, Captain," Princess Peach commented. "Our match is scheduled to start now, you know."

Falcon cast one last glance over his shoulder at the two men, before following the princess into the elevator-like transporter that brought them to Pokefloats for their match.

"I thought he'd never leave," Master mumbled. He gripped Crazy's shoulder fiercely and dragged him aside.

"Owowowowowow!"

"You fool!" Master hissed. "It's bad enough that Captain Falcon is growing suspicious of our plans – "

"Oh, I thought he already WAS," Crazy couldn't help but snicker.

"Shut up! What I mean is, we don't want him becoming any more suspicious of us than he already is. It's easier to break one's trust than earn it, you know."

"I know, I know, it's just…" Crazy started doing his 'antsy-dance' again, hopping from one foot to the other. "I've just been getting so anxious waiting for the chance to introduce the newest addition to our collection…"

"I know I've made you wait a while, but it will be worth it! We shall send 'him' or 'it' or whatever out there after another match or two. Samus and Pichu's match should be a good opportunity. It would be an excellent way to eliminate the huntress…"

"But what if you're wrong, and she doesn't win?" Crazy shook his finger in Master's face in a scolding gesture. "You've been wrong about this sort of thing before, you know…"

"Don't remind me," Master muttered through clenched teeth, glaring across the room at Marth, ironically standing near Link and Pikachu, cheering for Captain Falcon in his fight. "But she'll win. Pikachu is much more formidable than he appears, and he won by sheer luck. Pichu, on the other hand, should prove easy to defeat."

Crazy folded his arms, watching Captain Falcon get hit by a turnip, before striking the princess with a Falcon Kick.

_Well, it had better be worth the wait!_

The match came to an end after Captain Falcon had kneed the princess in the stomach, with enough force to shoot her out of the side of the arena.

Ness and Mario were matched up next, and the younger boy managed to pull off a victory after summoning Lugia from a Pokeball about three minutes into the fight (it had been excellent timing, as Ness had taken a fair amount of damage by the time he'd gotten the item).

After waiting so desperately for what was almost forty-five minutes, Samus and Pichu's match finally arrived. They would be doing combat at Termina, much to Master's relief, as there weren't any possible disadvantages from the field's setup.

The match started with Pichu jumping from the lower dock and attempting to hit Samus with one of its Thundershock attacks. She put up her shield without any hesitation to absorb the attack. Because of her vulnerability to her own attacks, Pichu had already taken a few points of damage. Samus pursued the small electric Pokemon onto the dock, swiping her cannon at the creature below her. Pichu took a hit, but retaliated with a headbutt. Not a powerful one, but she was fighting back at least. Samus smashed her cannon-arm forward into the face of the electric Pokemon (surely a devastating hit if it weren't for the fact that the fighters did not suffer any pain or injury). By some strange luck, Pichu ricocheted off the bottom of the metal platform and down into the water, sinking like a brick.

"GAME!" Master declared. He smirked at his brother, mentally teasing him. _I told you so…_ Crazy rolled his eyes, handling the remote in his pocket, as his brother finished his announcement. "This game's winner is… SAMUS!"

A victory scene of the bounty huntress kneeling down and firing a barrage of flames with a confident nod was displayed, before a familiar scene appeared.

The screen faded to blue and the 'A NEW CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED' alert was displayed.

"If anything happens to her…" Captain Falcon growled at Master.

"You'll what? Haven't you noticed that every time one of these new fighters appears in this world, everything turns out okay? That nothing goes wrong? Honestly, Falcon, you should be more trusting," Master glared at the racer. "… or would you care to continue questioning me at the risk of being confined to your room again? Must bring back memories of being a teenager, grounded for the weekend. Remember, Captain, 'shut in' or 'shut up'."

"I'd rather be locked up for the rest of my life if it meant protecting someone I – "

"Captain…" Marth placed a calming hand on the bounty hunter's arm. "I… I think Master's right. You shouldn't worry too much about Samus. She's a good fighter, remember? She'll be okay."

For a brief second Captain Falcon wanted to ask Marth how he could be so naïve before he noticed the prince's eyes. It seemed like he was begging him to step away from the problem and let it be over, simple as that. He released a deep breath.

"… You're right, Marth," Captain Falcon agreed, though his voice held a tone that suggested he did not like to admit it. "Samus will be o – "

The two fighters caught sight of a flash of light outside, where the mysterious chamber had reappeared. Marth dashed over to the door, catching up with Link, Mario, and Pikachu, who were anxious to see if there was a new fighter awaiting them.

Captain Falcon shot one more glare at Master before heading for the elevator-like portal, where Samus returned.

"You're okay?" he asked her.

Removing her helmet, she nodded. "The fight… honestly wasn't that bad."

Much to Samus's surprise, Captain Falcon also removed his helmet, so he could speak with her eye-to-eye. "What happened?"

"Well… I ended up at that one stage… the one where you guys have to fight that 'hand' or whatever it is. But there was no hand… there was a weird white and purple creature there. I shot a missile at it, expecting a fight… it dodged, but at the last second," she frowned in thought. "It… well, maybe 'he'… he sort of spoke then."

"Sort of?" Captain Falcon asked.

"I didn't see his mouth move, but I heard a voice. It sounded masculine, so I think this thing might have been male. It was weird, though, because the way I heard him talk... it was like hearing his voice in my head, like he was telepathic," Samus explained.

"What did he say?"

"He said something about his powers not fully working… that he had been weakened somehow. I didn't really pay attention because I charged at him and tackled him. I started fighting with him, and finally knocked him off the arena. He seemed to be psychic, it was a little like fighting Ness… but he also seemed like he was a Pokemon. But… he was _nothing_ like Pikachu or any of the Pokemon that come from the Pokeballs…"

"Well, we can figure all this out in a little," Captain Falcon commented, nodding to the door. "The room is back. He's joining us as a fighter, apparently."

They stepped outside to where the chamber had previously been, just in time for it to dissolve away into the thin air.

Sure enough, the same white and purple creature that Samus had battled remained once the chamber had vanished. It glared at all the human fighters around where it was seated, until a voice caught its attention.

"Pika!" (Mewtwo!)

"His name is what?" Peach asked.

_"My name is Mewtwo_," the creature stated telepathically.

"If Pikachu knows who you are, I'm going to guess that you're some sort of Pokemon, right?" Falco asked.

"_That is correct,_" the psychic Pokemon replied.

"Ah, so _you_ are our newest fighter!" Master greeted casually, stepping up behind the two bounty hunters. Mewtwo's eyes narrowed at the sight of the silver-haired man.

"_You are the one in charge, correct?_"

"Yes, my brother and I - "

Much to the surprise of everyone, Mewtwo suddenly levitated itself upright, before charging forward at the two.

"Wait, stop!" Marth exclaimed, grabbing onto the Pokemon's arm.

"_What has happened to my power? Why have I been weakened?"_ it questioned the two men. Mewtwo turned to the prince. "_And you, let go of me!_"

"They're in charge here! If you attack them, you'll get in serious trouble!" Marth stated, shaking his head.

"The boy is right. We have weakened the powers of several fighters here in case of mutiny or the risk of seriously hurting others," Master explained, his gaze shifting from Mewtwo to Ganondorf. "We have you here for the purposes of fighting for entertainment, and as a way of taking a 'study', if you will, on fighting styles."

"_I do not wish to be used for your experiments. Now, tell me - where am I?" _it glared at Marth briefly, yanking its arm out of the prince's grasp.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice. We're in a very remote... 'location', if you will, as we did not want to risk any external conflict with our fighting studies. Again, this is not a science experiment. No dissecting, or blood tests, nothing at all like that. You will be treated well here. Each fighter is _special_, not a _specimen_. You will have a place to live, food provided for you, medical care if necessary, and plenty of other beings to interact with."

"_Only the first three matter to me. When do we leave?"_

Even Captain Falcon seemed to want an answer to this question, as he turned to glare at the man with ivory hair. Master frowned, but smiled shortly afterwards and chuckled.

"Don't worry. That will be taken care of when the time is... 'right'. Now then, I believe it's almost time for lunch! We should see what Ruby has prepared for us today! Oh, and we'll also need to assign you a room, and you also need a tour of the grounds. Any volunteers?"

Mewtwo glared at the crowd of fighters, especially at the one that had held onto its arm. Of course, none of them would volunteer. It knew all of them were already intimidated.

Or so Mewtwo thought, as it felt something lightly brush against one of its ball-like fingertips. It was the tiny paw of a small yellow Pokemon - a Pichu, to be more precise.

"Pi! Pi pichu, chu pichu pi!" (Hi! Don't worry, you'll like it here!)

The tiny Pokemon had to jump up in order to properly hold onto Mewtwo's finger.

"Pi Pichu. Chu pichu?" (I'm Pichu. Who are you?)

"_I am Mewtwo, the - "_

"Pichu pi chu PI?" (Is there a Mew-THREE?) the electric Pokemon asked curiously, her eyes growing large with wonder.

"_No, and I do not think there - "_

"Chu, pichu! Pi pichu pi chu pichu!"(Well, come on! We gotta get you a room!)

She tried to drag Mewtwo along to the main building, but its size was too great for her to even budge its arm. Mewtwo finally hovered along behind the electric mouse Pokemon, opting to see what its living conditions would be like.

The other fighters watched the two Pokemon, wondering what the new fighter would be like.

"Did-a you see the way he looked-a at you?" Luigi asked the prince from across the table. "I'm-a telling you, he hates-a you already."

"Do you really think so?" Marth asked. "I didn't mean to upset him... or it... I just didn't want Mewtwo to get in trouble immediately after arriving here."

"I'm sure Mewtwo will understand... in time. Remember, just like us, 'he' probably has no idea what's happened to 'him'." Link offered, trying to reassure the prince.

"Our best bet is probably to wait until Mewtwo's more familiar with the Suites. Until then, we ought to keep our distance..." Captain Falcon's voice trailed off as he caught sight of Pokemon they were all talking about, entering the cafeteria while Pichu was continuing to be its "guide".

"Pi! Pichu Pi Pichu? Pi pichu pi Chu pi Pichu Pichu! Chupi, pi pichu pipichu pichu, chu pi chu!"(Wow! You're in Room Thirteen? That's right next to Marth and Captain Falcon! Anyway, this is the cafeteria, where we eat!) the small electric Pokemon explained.

Mewtwo glanced up at the table where the four other residents of the third floor were seated.

"Oh, great-a. Karma. I talk-a about the new-a guy, and he ends-a up living nearby-a." Luigi groaned. "What-a do we do now-a?"

Marth turned in his seat to face Mewtwo, then - much to Luigi's horror - waved at the psychic Pokemon. "Mewtwo! Pull up a chair and sit with us!"

"What-a are you doing?" Luigi asked in a loud, hissing whisper. "I thought-a we just agreed-a we were going-a to avoid him-a!"

"If he's going to be staying on the same floor as us, then there's no point in trying to avoid him. We'll be seeing Mewtwo everyday, so why not try to make the best of our time together?" Marth suggested.

"He has a point," Captain Falcon pointed out to the plumber beside him. "Plus, there was a fifty-fifty chance Mewtwo would've wound up staying with us, since there were only two rooms that..." his voice trailed off, the bounty hunter suddenly appearing troubled.

"Captain?" Link asked.

"Now that Mewtwo's with us, there's only one empty room left. So that must mean..."

"... there's another fighter left?" Marth asked, finishing the racer's thoughts. Captain Falcon nodded.

"One remains..." Link mused as Mewtwo telepathically shifted a chair to the table and sat down.

"So, Mewtwo... what is your fighting style like?" Marth asked.

"_Although my powers seem to have been weakened by being brought here, I rely on my psychic ability to fight."_

"Oh. So... what is it like to be psychic? Or at least, what was your power like before you came to the Battle Royale Suites?" The prince watched the psychic Pokemon, eating a piece of fruit as it replied, amazed that it could still communicate with him because of these psychic abilities.

"_I had more power, to put it simply. I would've been able to total this building with my powers. I could read minds clearly. It was like listening to a conversation. Before, I would have been able to hear what each and every person in this room was thinking. Now, everything sounds like a muffled whisper. It is almost completely inaudible."_

"What about stuff really deep in the mind, like old memories? Do you think there might be any way to get your powers back? I'd be willing to help!" The prince realized how excited he had become, softening his voice. "I'm sorry, I probably seem like all I care about is your powers. It's probably been difficult for you to get used to things around here. It was for us when we first got here too. If I've hurt your feelings - " Marth paused when the Pokemon glanced up at him abruptly, then shook its head. Mewtwo did not seem pleased by the prince's statement, but not offended either. Its expression was completely unreadable.

"_No, you have not offended me in any way. However, I am done eating my meal. I want to be alone for a while."_

The Pokemon left with a tray half-full of food, disposing of what it hadn't eaten, before leaving the cafeteria. On the way out, Pichu tried to stop Mewtwo, as though she were trying to talk with the psychic Pokemon some more - perhaps even inviting him to play with her later. Regardless of what she had said, Mewtwo seemed to have denied her request, leaving the small electric Pokemon looking disappointed.

As Marth watched the psychic Pokemon levitate out the doorway, several thoughts crossed his mind.

One, that Mewtwo definitely had great powers. Powers that could possibly solve the problems he and his friends had been dealing with, such as what his dream about Link meant, or maybe some way to prove to Captain Falcon that Master and Crazy had no intentions of harming the fighters at the Battle Royale Suites.

Two, that the psychic Pokemon did not seem to want to have anything to do with the prince.

Three, that Mewtwo would need someone to help him get used to life around the Battle Royale Suites; someone that the psychic Pokemon could go to if it was dealing with any stress.

And four, that the only way to solve those other problems was to befriend the psychic Pokemon - no matter how hard that would be.

**Captain Falcon: Finally! Finally, she updates the story! At last, we finally know Link's fate... and we finally have a new fighter - Mewtwo!**

**Samus: bijoukaiba... you've gotta do something about your inspiration problem. You keep talking about some "Hetalia-inspired" character you created named Aaron, yet there's no sign of him anywhere in your fanfiction or fanart.**

**Captain Falcon: Yeah... ever since she really started to embrace her college life at UF, she's been really focused on that Aaron character of hers. What about us, though?**

**Samus: Well, she updated. That's a start. Here's hoping the next chapter will get here faster (glares at the author).**


	23. Eventful Revelations

**Captain Falcon: Welcome to another exciting chapter of Swordplay!**

**Samus: Chapter.**

**Captain Falcon: ... No, I said chapter this time. Not episode.**

**Samus: Oh, I guess so. I've just had a lot on my mind lately. And apparently, so has Marth.**

**Captain Falcon: I can sort of relate. I'm still wondering how things are going to turn out now that Mewtwo will be staying on the same floor as me. Like what sort of effect he'll have on Marth, Link, and Luigi.**

**Samus: Well, we can ponder this sort of thing later. Disclaimer time!**

**Diddy Kong: **_**bijoukaiba claims no ownership of Super Smash Brothers, the characters, or any of their respective franchises and games.**_

**Captain Falcon: Thanks for reading! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Chapter 23: Eventful Revelations**

As if his newly realized crush wasn't bothering him enough, there was something else bothering Marth.

It was the fact that now, more than ever, Captain Falcon seemed to be obsessing over Master and Crazy.

The prince had been trying so hard to reassure the bounty hunter that things would be okay, but Captain Falcon refused to believe him. Marth had to admit, sometimes he did provide good evidence.

Like... the fact that during the past week, Master and Crazy were starting to limit the number of regular fights the fighters used to always compete in, insisting that they engage in more of the event fights, target tests, and multi-man battles, although the latter were held far less frequently.

"You don't find it odd? At all? That Master and Crazy would suddenly have us participate in all of these event matches out of the blue?" Captain Falcon had debated.

"I think that's the issue," Marth argued. "We have been engaging in a lot of regular fights lately."

"Still, I thought the main purpose _was_ for us to fight. At the very least, they could be mixing up these fights and single-person matches a bit more."

That had been one of the debates Marth had flat out lost, left speechless and unable to come up with a reasonable answer.

"I'm just... I'm worried about him, Link. Remember what happened when he fought with Ganondorf and threatened Master afterwards? Even if Falcon didn't mean to threaten him, he still got into trouble. He's already upsetting them quite a bit, and if he finally pushes his accusations too far... there's no telling how much trouble he'd be in."

"Hmm..." Link stared at his waffles in thought. "I think..."

His voice trailed off as he took a bite out of his breakfast.

"I think these are the best waffles I've ever tasted!"

"Link! _Seriously!_"

"Sorry! I just - "

Before Link could comment, the afore-mentioned bounty hunter took a seat beside the Hylian. Marth folded his hands in his lap and didn't comment further.

"Kind of quiet today, aren't we?" Captain Falcon asked.

Marth looked up at him, before turning his concentration to the waffles on his plate.

"Seriously, what's with him?" he asked.

"He's just worried about something..." Link replied. Captain Falcon appeared ready to ask, so Link quickly added, "But... Marth asked me not to talk about it."

"All right, I won't ask any further."

Marth looked up with a smile at the Hero. The prince's expression brightened even more, as he stood up suddenly.

"Mewtwo! Over here!"

The psychic Pokemon, telepathically carrying its plate of food, hovered over to where the swordsmen and racer were sitting.

_Hello, Marth. Link. Captain._

Marth patted the chair beside him. "Sit with us?"

The Pokemon telepathically placed its food on the table, before hovering into the chair next to Marth.

"How did you sleep?" the prince asked.

_Adequately._

Link and Captain Falcon exchanged a look.

"Well, that's... good..." Marth replied.

The bounty hunter's brow furrowed. The prince was surprised by his sudden change of expression, so he turned around.

"Good morning, everyone," Master greeted.

So THAT was why Captain Falcon's mood had changed so suddenly.

"I thought we would start out this morning..."

"... with more target-breaking matches," the racer murmured.

" - with more target-breaking matches!" Master exclaimed, trying to excite the fighters. "After that, we will resume the event matches!"

"Why am I not surprised?" the bounty hunter rolled his eyes.

Link glanced across the table at Marth.

"See what I mean?" the prince silently mouthed to the Hylian.

"Apparently..." Master mused, reading over a list. "Jigglypuff, Roy, and Ness are the only ones left who need to complete their Target Tests... would any of you like to go first?"

"Jiggly!" (Me first!)

"And I'd like to go next!" Roy added, raising a hand.

"Very well, we'll give Jigglypuff a run, then Roy, and then Ness. We'll even give you a second, if necessary. Then we'll have lunch, and then we'll work on some event matches. See you all in a few minutes!"

Crazy didn't speak, but he had been grinning and gently patting his pants pocket during his brother's announcements.

"How much do you wanna bet we'll probably be getting a new fighter today?" Captain Falcon asked.

"You can't be certain, Captain..." Marth debated.

"Crazy seems excited, and the conditions seem too specific. Think about it, Marth... I've completed my Target Test... you've done yours... Link and Mewtwo have done theirs... almost everyone else has done theirs as well. Only three people aren't done yet - Jigglypuff, Roy, and Ness. And there's also the fact that there's still that empty room left." the bounty hunter argued.

Marth's mouth hung open for a moment, then chewed on his lip, trying to decide what to say.

"I am about ninety-five percent certain that if Jigglypuff, Roy, and Ness are successful in their tests, we will be seeing that new fighter show up. The last time Crazy was acting like this, Samus wound up fighting against Mewtwo."

The bounty huntress - seated behind Captain Falcon - glanced over her shoulder at the sound of her name.

"I thought you were just worried about that fight because it was Samus fighting," Marth commented.

"Well... okay, that was a major part of it..." Captain Falcon admitted. Although he couldn't see her, Samus smiled a little at that statement. "... but you can't deny that when some of the other fighters showed up, Master and Crazy started acting funny!"

"Like when Pichu arrived?" Marth inquired.

"Well, the thing is... Pichu..."

_Pichu does not exactly perform at the same level as the other fighters._

"... Yeah. That might have been why we didn't have to - " Captain Falcon started.

"Mewtwo! What did you say?" Marth interrupted. Rather than seeming offended by the belittling statement towards Pichu, he actually seemed excited. The prince's eyes were certainly lit up.

_I stated that Pichu does not perform at the same level as the other fighters. And then Captain Falcon's statement seemed to suggest that he agreed with me._

"Yes! Don't you see? I think you might have just read Captain Falcon's mind!"

_Marth... I believe we both simply agreed on my statement. We both think that Pichu does not match the fighting quality of the other fighters. _

"He has a point, Marth... wouldn't you agree that Pichu isn't exactly as good as the rest of us?"

"No, I just think Pichu needs a little help!" the prince argued. "You wouldn't have said the same thing about Ness, would you?"

Link shook his head with a smile. Marth was willing to stand up for anybody, wasn't he? Well, maybe not _anybody_, but there were still plenty of people he would defend.

_You only doubt Ganondorf because he is your own foe._

Link, Captain Falcon, and Marth looked over at Mewtwo.

_You did not say this?_ The psychic Pokemon glanced at Link.

The Hylian shook his head. "No... I was just thinking that Marth would stand up for anyone, except for maybe Ganondorf..."

"Mewtwo... I think your powers are coming back!" the prince gently held the Pokemon's 'hand' in his own. "Isn't this exciting?"

_I suppose so. It could be used to my advantage. But it could also be used to the advantage of others, which could be negative._

"Oh... then I won't ask," Marth replied.

"You won't?" Link and Captain Falcon asked the prince.

"Mewtwo's right... we'd just be trying to find out why _I_ had this dream... to see if it had anything to do with why we ended up here... why I arrived differently... face it, it only works to our advantage."

_Perhaps not. If it explains why all of the fighters arrived here, it would also work to my advantage. Any memories hidden in your mind could help us leave this place, Marth._

"Then... then you'd be willing to help us?" the prince asked.

The psychic Pokemon nodded.

"Thank you, Mewtwo. You might just be the answer to any questions we have." Captain Falcon stated.

_Who is Adam Malkovich?_

"Who?" the three other fighters exchanged a confused look.

At the table behind them, Samus seemed to be in a hurry to leave.

**-This-is-a-separation-block-to-split-up-scenes-**

"Look, there she is!" Kirby exclaimed, pointing to Jigglypuff on the screen.

Jigglypuff began her test by smashing the two targets on her immediate left and right. She then jumped and dodged her way between two force fields to find a target in that space. Jigglypuff jumped and hit that target by waving an arm over her head. She then dodged to get through the final two force fields. Spotting an overhead target in front of her, Jigglypuff floated over to it and broke it with her Pound attack.

Now, glancing below her, she could see what looked like floating force fields, sweeping past a target down below. Jigglypuff floated down cautiously. She dodged underneath one of the force fields, landing on the log platform. She walked closer to the first target, pausing to duck underneath one of the floating force fields. She was soon up again, and smacked the target. Carefully avoiding the force fields by ducking or dodging, she soon made her way to the other end of the platform. Jigglypuff jumped into the air and smacked the overhead target.

"She only needs four more," Ness remarked.

Jigglypuff paused on a small overhang, glancing across from her at four targets in a straight line. She could do this, but she'd have to be careful with how she jumped.

Jigglypuff bounced into the air, and hit the first target by twirling in the air. She bounced again, and smacked the second target by twirling again. With a third jump, she hit the next target by kicking her legs out behind her. With a fourth jump, she kicked her legs out once more... and succeeded in breaking the final target.

"A new record!" Master announced.

"Good job, Jigglypuff!" Link cheered.

As usual, Kirby greeted her when exiting the elevator. Roy trotted past her, exchanging a high-five with the Pokemon before stepping into the elevator.

"I'm ready!" he confirmed, with a thumbs up.

Master smiled, configuring the controls, before returning the gesture. The doors closed, and Roy was soon transported to his target arena.

Landing upon a sandy red platform, he immediately destroyed the target above him with a jumping sweep of his blade.

He jumped off, heading towards two blocks that encased two targets. Below the lower block, Roy recovered with his Blazer technique, destroying the target in the process. Upon landing, all it took was a sweep of his blade to destroy the encased target and a moving one nearby.

Roy now leapt into the air, using Blazer to destroy a target that moved behind a small platform. After landing, Roy moved onto a slightly longer platform. He jumped from it and swung his blade around his body to destroy a target in front of him. Now he had destroyed over half of his targets.

The fiery swordsman dashed off the platform, falling naturally. He swept his blade in front of him during the fall to eliminate a target, then - later spotting another platform near two targets - he used a mid-air jump and Blazer to land safely upon the platform and destroy both targets.

"One left!" Donkey Kong cheered, pointing at the screen.

Roy examined the flippers in front of him. A collision could throw off the direction and timing of an attack. It might not matter as much if he hit the top flipper; after all, he would likely hit it in the process of destroying the target. But he would have to be careful about avoiding the bottom one.

He jumped a fair distance away from it, then leapt forward from his mid-air jump. Blazer connected successfully with the target, completing Roy's target test.

"A new record!" Master announced.

Ness turned to the elevator doors, knowing it was now his turn.

Roy exited, giving Ness a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine!" the swordsman reassured.

"Thanks!" Ness adjusted his baseball cap with a smile, before entering the elevator.

Ness's arena appeared much different than Roy's had; rather than bricks forming the support areas, the floors and walls appeared to be made of some kind of metal. It gave the scene a 'factory' feeling.

Ness landed inside a small pit, immediately noticing a target placed above him. He jumped up and destroyed it with a few sparks generated from his hands. The psychic boy landed on the metal platform to his left, and then turned to notice two targets beyond an area of platforms made of red metal - perhaps their unique color had been caused by rust? Ness cautiously leapt over to them, ready to jump away in case the rusty metal crumbled beneath his feet. However, it seemed as though this metal was capable of holding his weight; the metal was colored red from other methods.

"PK FLASH!" Ness shouted, generating an orb of green energy. It floated upward and destroyed the uppermost target.

"PK FIRE!" Ness threw his arms forward, generating a small spark that erupted into a column of flames upon contact with the lower target.

He turned around to head back, when he noticed a target below him almost completely surrounded by the metal framework. How could he possibly destroy that one? Sure, there had to be some way to reach it... but he'd likely have to maneuver himself like a snake to get to it. Wait - that was it!

"PK THUNDER!" Ness closed his eyes, concentrating on the movements of the energy orb he had generated. It slipped downward, between two metal walls, underneath a small metal platform, upwards through a small opening, and finally curved it backwards into the small pocket. Ness smiled at the sound of the target shattering as he opened his eyes again.

The boy jumped over to the pit again, heading to the right side, where he spotted two targets. While inside the pit, he tried out the attack he enjoyed using while running - generating small sparks from his hands. It did seem to have a fair range... maybe the sparks could hit the target on the other side of the metal? There was only one way to know. Ness dashed against the wall, using the shocking attack. This time, his smile widened into a grin as the target shattered. The psychic youth leapt onto the top of the wall, firing a PK Fire attack at the remaining target. His attack fell a little short, but after moving forward a little more, he was able to successfully hit it.

Now there was the issue of the four remaining targets. Ness glanced upward, spotting a smaller platform that floated slowly from side to side.

_Of course._

Ness jumped up, landing on the platform with an added boost from his PK Thunder attack. He jumped again, barely landing on top of a metal wall that was also red in color. Ness turned around and destroyed the target he had missed on the way up with a PK Fire attack. There was also another target across from him, one target directly below him, and one target directly to the right of the lower one. Remembering how he had destroyed a previous target with his running attack, Ness decided to try his similar aerial attack on the way down to destroy the target that had been below him. The attack connected successfully. Ness turned around and used the actual dashing attack on the target behind him.

_Great! That means I'm down to the last one!_ The boy thought to himself.

_Great! That means we're down to the last one! _Master thought to himself. Based on Crazy's grin across the room, he was thinking the same thing.

Captain Falcon glanced between the two men, noticing their suspiciously excited expressions.

_Prove me wrong, gentlemen. I dare you._

"Captain Falcon, look!" Marth cheered, pointing at the screen. "He did it!"

Sure enough, Ness had just destroyed the last target with a PK Fire attack.

"A new record!" Master declared.

Crazy nodded, and pressed the button on the secret controller.

Gasps arose in the room as the familiar 'New Challenger' screen appeared on the monitors. The new fighter's silhouette, oddly enough, seemed to resemble a stick figure, though perhaps a bit thicker, and with actual hands and feet added on.

The prince's smile disappeared, looking up at the bounty hunter standing beside him. He had been right. Was Captain Falcon... right about Master and Crazy too?

**-This-is-a-separation-block-to-split-up-scenes-**

Ness reawakened in a very strange environment. It appeared simple enough - there was a house nearby, and he appeared to be standing in a dirt field, like a possible backyard - but something just felt odd... he kind of had this sensation of being pressed against a window.

His opponent... looked like some sort of thin line... what was going on? Ness rolled away from the line, noticing in mid-dodge that the side of his opponent looked like some sort of stick figure. His opponent was... a paper cutout, perhaps? Ness looked down at his hands, and was horrified to discover they looked like lines as well.

"Wha-?" Ness gasped, turning his hand. When rotated, his hand did look fine - from the top and bottom view. But on the side, it looked like a thin line. Apparently, in this world, he was a paper cutout as well. Was he... stuck this way? Maybe if he defeated this strange opponent of his, this transformation could be reversed.

"PK Fire!" Ness shouted, hitting the enemy with the flaming attack. The two-dimensional foe was tossed about in the flames, but 'he' was not consumed. Clearly, this fighter wasn't made of paper - which relieved Ness upon reflection, as such an attack - for all he knew - could have possibly killed him. The new fighter tossed some sort of projectiles at him, but Ness couldn't really see what they were. They certainly smelled good, though... almost like bacon or sausage. For a brief moment, he remembered his mother's cooking - whether it was bacon and eggs for breakfast, or some of that steak he craved so much.

Ness shook these thoughts away, dashing forward and shocking the opponent. The mysterious fighter did not cry out, but appeared to beep in displeasure. The psychic boy swung his baseball bat and struck the 'paper man'. The fighter crumpled - figuratively speaking - under the force and was thrown backwards, off the stage. Three loud beeps from his foe indicated to Ness that he had been victorious. He found himself suddenly back in the elevator, returning to the bottom floor. Also, much to his relief, he seemed to be back in three-dimensional form.

Meanwhile, the mysterious gray room had appeared, indicating to the other fighters that Ness had been victorious. Most of the room cleared out to see who would be joining them; Ness's friends, however, remained to greet the boy.

"Ness!" Marth exclaimed, walking over to the boy. "How was it?"

"Everything seemed okay to me, but..." Ness frowned. "The place I fought in was so weird... I was flat, like paper... and so was my opponent!"

"Paper-thin environment, eh?" Link asked.

"Makes you wonder what Master and Crazy are capable of," Captain Falcon mused.

The doors opened, allowing the new fighter to enter the room, surrounded by a huge crowd of fighters.

"... Why do you look like that? You're so... thin?"

"Well... where. I. am. from. everyone. is. 'flat'. Beep."

"Like an alternate dimension?"

"I. suppose. so. Beep."

"Well, Mr..." Master's voice trailed off, searching for the newest fighter's name.

"Game. and. Watch. Beep."

"... Game and Watch...?"

"Yes. Beep."

"Well, Mr. Game and Watch, we have a room selected for you that should make your stay with us quite pleasant."

"That's right!" Peach exclaimed. "There was only one room left!"

"My point exactly," Master agreed. "Now then! We have some new Event matches for today. Who wants to fight?"

He removed his own remote from his pocket to change the channel, showing off the menu of new Event matches. There were now numbers 40-50 added. Captain Falcon's eyes immediately fell on the Event at the bottom of the list - Final Destination Match. Before he could speak, Fox had lifted his hand.

"I'd like to try out number 40... the All-Star Match... if that's okay," the pilot requested.

"Perfectly fine," Master replied. "Now then, I'll also need Marth, Luigi, Mewtwo, Jigglypuff... and actually, you as well, Mr. Game and Watch."

"Beep! I. have. to. fight? Beep?"

"No worries, it's perfectly safe. You weren't hurt in your fight with Ness, were you?"

"But. the. boy..." Game and Watch turned towards his previous opponent. "He. used. some. kind. of. fire. attack! Beep! I. was. afraid. I. was. going. to. be. burned. alive! Beep!"

Ness glanced at the floor awkwardly.

"It's just how the boy fights," Master stated nonchalantly. "Almost everyone here has fire incorporated into how they fight. But you cannot be burned... as stated, you cannot be hurt at all."

"I. suppose. I. will. try. then. Beep."

The chosen fighters stepped into the elevator, awaiting their matches to begin.

"So, what's the deal with Final Destination Match?" Captain Falcon asked Master, as Marth and Fox appeared on screen to fight. "I mean, we've all fought the one hand before in Classic Mode. But two? Where did the second one come from?"

"I use controls to manipulate one hand; the other hand will be manipulated by Crazy. It's why we always wear gloves, you know... these hands you fight against are essentially the 'mascots' of the Battle Royale Suites."

"It does make sense," Link remarked, flinching at the sound of Marth crying out as he flew off in the background of the Temple arena.

"Yes, it seems a lot more clear to me now," Captain Falcon agreed, leaving to stand with Samus and watch Luigi battle Fox. Link turned around, watching the fight as well.

_I know he's lying..._ Master sneered.

_I know he's lying..._ Captain Falcon thought to himself, folding his arms.

**-This-is-a-separation-block-to-split-up-scenes-**

Fox had ended the event match victoriously, and Master and Crazy immediately declared lunchtime. Ruby had prepared a variety of sub sandwiches for the fighters that day, giving them plenty to eat.

However, some fighters chose to forego the smorgasbord of sandwiches and ate lightly; namely, the residents of the third floor.

Marth, Luigi, Captain Falcon, Link, and Mewtwo had gathered in the prince's room. Marth sat on the edge of his bed, facing Mewtwo, who was seated in a chair in front of him. Link sat beside Marth on the bed, and Falcon and Luigi stood in the corner of the room.

_I will be penetrating into your deepest memories, and the images that have appeared in your dreams. I am not sure what effect this will have on you..._

Marth appeared a little uneasy, but he looked up into the psychic Pokemon's eyes.

"I'll be okay, Mewtwo. I trust you."

The Pokemon pressed its orb-like fingertips to Marth's forehead and closed its eyes in concentration.

Marth's eyes widened, taking in a sharp breath, as he suddenly felt a strange rushing sensation sweep throughout his body - it felt like he was flying through his memories.

First, there was the marketplace - he had been shopping with Shiida. Then some sort of dark room - being here made him feel cold, frightened, and hungry. He saw the two floating gloves again, and heard a mysterious voice, speaking in his native tongue - "And it's just like I warned you - they're dead." He saw the Fountain of Dreams, and Pikachu - yet he heard that same voice mention Link's name. He saw the gloves, clenching Shiida and Elice, as they cried out for help.

"Stop!" Marth cried out. Mewtwo's eyes shot open, concentration broken.

The last thing he saw was Link, looking down at him, asking, "Hmm... you really have no idea where you are, do you?"

Mewtwo removed its digits from the prince's forehead. Marth's eyes wearily shut, and he started to fall backwards. Link quickly caught him with one arm, the prince's head collapsing against the Hylian's shoulder.

"Marth-a!"

"Is he okay?"

The two other fighters in the room had now rushed to their friend's side.

"I think so... I think he was just... 'overwhelmed'..." Link replied, looking down at the prince resting against him.

_Yes. Marth should be back to normal soon._

"What did you see?" Captain Falcon asked.

_He was apparently in a marketplace before being sent here. There was also a dark room, which evoked cold sensations and hunger._

"That-a could be the 'room'-a everyone talks about-a," Luigi suggested.

"Yeah, but Marth didn't arrive in the room like everyone else," Link argued. "So, it must be someplace else."

_He also seems to hold memories of Pikachu and the Fountain of Dreams._

"Now that one makes sense," Captain Falcon commented. "Pikachu told us that it fought Marth at the Fountain of Dreams, remember?"

_There were also images of two women, about the same age as Marth. One seemed older, but looked very much like him._

"Elice," Link stated. "She's Marth's older sister. And the other girl was Shiida, I'd bet."

_I heard a voice, but I could not recognize it. If Marth could not remember what it sounds like, I could not either. But the voice mentioned Link's name, and told Marth that 'they were dead', and he had apparently 'been warned' about this._

"Me?" Link asked. "What would anyone want with me?"

"Well, you ARE-a the Hero of-a Time where you're-a from," Luigi pointed out. "They could-a have wanted to eliminate-a such a hero,"

"Not only that, but remember the 'they were dead' and Marth being warned about something..." Captain Falcon placed a hand to his chin in thought, and suddenly snapped his fingers.

"Wait a minute! Pikachu fought against you in your first match... right, Link? Everyone was surprised when you lost, remember? I think... you were intended to fight against Marth that day. I think... whatever happened that day... Marth realized that Pikachu wasn't you either. So he quit fighting, like Pikachu said. It makes sense... Marth isn't really the type to attack someone else without reason."

"Okay, then. So, why would Marth even be willing to fight me in the first place?"

"I think that's where the 'warning' part comes in. I think Shiida and Elice were being held hostage, and Marth had to fight to save their lives. Think about it - fighting for someone he loves? That definitely sounds like something Marth would be willing to do."

_He also had memories of two large floating hands. Both of them were covered with gloves._

"Kind of-a sounds like the large-a glove we fight against-a at the end of-a Classic Mode," Luigi mused. "Captain-a Falcon, what's wrong?"

"Captain?" Link asked the bounty hunter, whose expression had suddenly turned more serious, as if he had realized something.

It all made sense now. The gloves. Shiida and Elice's tragic deaths. The hostility towards Marth. It all had been tied up in a complex knot.

"Captain Falcon!" Link called his name a little more loudly.

The racer shook his head.

"What's on your mind?" Link asked.

Captain Falcon looked around the room - at Luigi, at Mewtwo, at Link, and at Marth, still passed out in Link's arms. He thought of Zelda, Ness, and Fox.

And then... then he thought of Samus.

If he said something now, he could be putting any of them - all of them - in danger.

"I just stared off into space for a moment. Sorry about that," he lied. "Anyway, guys... I think lunch is probably almost done. We should probably head back."

"I'll just stay here, until Marth wakes up," Link commented. "... Just want to make sure he's okay."

"I'm-a sure Master won't-a mind. We're-a just doing Event matches-a anyway."

Captain Falcon and Luigi left the room. Link shifted himself to lay Marth down against his pillow, but still sat by the prince's bedside.

_He thinks about you a lot._

"Hmm?" Link asked.

_Marth._

"Oh," Link replied, blushing. He looked down at the resting prince.

_Do you think about him a lot too?_

"I... well... I don't know..."

_You know if you do._

Mewtwo exited the room, leaving behind a confused Hylian.

**-This-is-a-separation-block-to-split-up-scenes-**

"What?" Master groaned. "What do you mean, Marth can't come down to fight? We need him for two of the Event Matches!"

"He started feeling ill after lunch, so he went to lie down in his room. Link's taking care of him right now," Captain Falcon defended.

"That's disappointing, but not as bad. The match we needed him for was one we needed Marth for as well."

_That's right, blame Marth for it. Just prove me right even more._

Now, Captain Falcon _could_ suggest that Master could hold the remaining Event Matches - to get him closer to checking out the Final Destination Match - but to suddenly agree to a plan that Master would support? That would be very odd for him.

"What's wrong? Can't we do any of the other matches? Or did you need Marth or Link to battle some sort of secret fighter?" Captain Falcon challenged.

"No. We'll just go through the remaining Event Matches that don't require them. We'll postpone those other matches for another day. Luigi!" the plumber jumped, startled by having his name called. "Get ready. You have an Event Match right now!"

Captain Falcon walked away to watch the match, a small smirk - invisible to Master - on his face. Reverse psychology... it never failed!

This was apparently a match titled "Trouble King 2". Bowser had also been assigned to fight Luigi, but his size had been doubled, and their match was on the Poke Floats arena.

"Hey... Captain Falcon?"

The bounty hunter looked around, then spotted the person who had asked for him.

"Ness! ... Everything okay?"

The boy appeared slightly uncomfortable, tugging at the bottom of his shirt.

"Well... you remember what Mr. Game and Watch said, right? I want to apologize somehow, but I want to do more for him than just say sorry."

"Why not make him something? You could make him some sort of welcome card to help him feel more... uh, welcome," Samus suggested. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to overhear."

"Yeah... that might work! I could even get everyone to sign it! Oh, but... Ganondorf and Bowser probably wouldn't sign it. And Pikachu and Pichu probably can't write..."

The mentioned Koopa King could be heard roaring in defeat, after Luigi had knocked him off the stage.

"Who says you need Ganondorf and Bowser to sign? Just let whoever wants to sign it, sign it," Samus stated. "And you could use paint to make it. Anybody signing it could paint out their name, or put a handprint to sign. Come to think of it, paw-prints from Pikachu and Pichu could actually be pretty cute..."

"Paint..." Captain Falcon murmured. "... Paint! That's it! That's a great idea!"

"Oh, well... thank you," Samus returned.

"Captain Falcon!" Master yelled. "You're needed for the next match!"

"Don't get started yet," Captain Falcon requested of the boy.

"Um... I don't really have anything to work with, so I can't..."

"That's great. Now wait here."

The racer dashed off to the elevator, meeting Falco and Fox there.

"This should be an interesting fight," Fox commented.

"I know... pilot versus pilot! Two Starfox members fighting in combat... against each other..."

"Uh, Captain Falcon?" Falco asked. "We're on the same team. You're supposed to help me, you know, fight."

The three fighters found themselves transported to the Big Blue arena.

"Falco..." the bounty hunter placed a hand on the pilot's shoulder. He kept his voice low so the spectators couldn't hear him - not that they _could_, over the background music. "Any other time, you know I would be fighting beside you, giving my all. But something has come up, and... well... it's very important. It's so important, I can't spend my time fighting here."

"WHAT?"

Much to the bird's surprise, Captain Falcon leapt off the nose of the Falcon Flyer, landing on the road below him and whizzing past off screen.

"What is he...?" Samus asked as Captain Falcon was suddenly revived. Only a few moments after landing on the back of his aircraft, he ran to the tail end and jumped off, once again falling onto the road and speedily being marked as out-of-bounds. Fox and Falco were speechless for a few moments after the bounty hunter's actions, but soon remembered that they had to actually fight each other.

As soon as Captain Falcon emerged from the elevator, Samus came walking over to him.

"What was that about?"

"I'm just not in the mood to fight _right now_," he stated.

"If you say so," Samus replied, noticing the way he had said 'right now'.

_Whatever he's planning, I just hope it doesn't land him in trouble..._

Fox did emerge victorious in the match against Falco. The latter of the two pilots shot a glare at Captain Falcon upon his exit; the former went to spend time with Princess Zelda - time that did not last very long, as she was called aside for the 44th Event Match. She and Mewtwo were called in to fight the Ice Climbers. They remembered the assignment - to only fight Mewtwo, not Zelda - and succeeded.

Game and Watch competed in the next match, having to defeat 25 miniature clones of himself.

A third Trophy Tussle was the next event match; Roy defeated Young Link, Peach, and Donkey Kong to win the fight.

Bowser was amused by the idea of battling the smaller electric Pokemon in "Pikachu and Pichu", so he chose to take on the challenge of the Event Match. He failed once, but after realizing he didn't need to worry about Pikachu, the Koopa King had a much easier time on his second try.

Mario opted to try out the 49th Event - "All-Star Match Deluxe" - and also proved victorious, though he had lost a stock in battling Roy.

Now the only match that remained that could be held that day was the Final Destination Match. Master knew it, Captain Falcon knew it, everyone knew it.

"Well, we certainly did a great job fighting today! Everyone has worked so hard... I think we should call it quits for today. I would also like to announce that we will be introducing a new mode of fighting known as the 'All-Star Mode'... assuming everyone is feeling well. One fighter is pitted against a clone of themselves, as well as the other twenty-four fighters!"

"Jiggly jigglypuff, jig?" (Not at the same time, right?)

"No, not at all. They start with four one-on-one matches, then four matches against a team of two, and then four matches against a team of three fighters. The final fight is... quite a free-for-all, shall we say? You can thank Mr. Game and Watch for that."

"They. can? Beep?"

"After that, we will have some more of our usual versus matches, classic one-on-one style. See you all at dinner."

**-This-is-a-separation-block-to-split-up-scenes-**

Grilled chicken or pork, asparagus, green beans, potato salad, and mashed potatoes were served for dinner that night. Iced tea, lemonade, and water were also available to drink.

Captain Falcon took a seat with Samus, Roy, and Ness.

"What was up with you today?" Roy asked. "Losing fights on purpose? Are you crazy?"

"Roy!" Samus and Ness hissed.

"What? I'm just saying..."

"Anyway, changing the subject..." Ness commented, "I decided to take your advice, Samus. I'm going to make that card for Mr. Game and Watch. With paint, too."

"Good to hear!" Captain Falcon agreed. "But... when do you plan to start working on it?"

The psychic boy shrugged. "I figured around lunchtime tomorrow. Everyone would be gathered in one place, and it would be pretty good timing for me, since I'm - "

"Good evening, everyone!" Master announced. "Because there will be an All-Star match - thus, everyone will be doing some fighting tomorrow - we figured we would cut back on the afternoon matches... don't want to wear out our fighters! Here are our plans for tomorrow!"

**All-Star Mode: NESS**

**Fountain of Dreams - 1:00 pm**

_Captain Falcon vs Marth_

**Onett - 2:00 pm**

_Luigi vs Link_

**Mushroom Kingdom - 3:00 pm**

_Mario vs Roy_

**Icicle Mountain - 4:00 pm**

_Samus vs Peach_

Captain Falcon read over the schedule and knew.

He was fairly close friends with almost everyone on the list - he knew they would hear him out if he asked them to forfeit. They just HAD to... it was the only way.

The evidence. Ness's project. The new Event Matches. The arranged matches.

Captain Falcon knew... it had to be tomorrow.

**-This-is-a-separation-block-to-split-up-scenes-**

"You really didn't have to do this, you know," Marth commented.

"I'm just not sure if you're ready to be walking around yet. Maybe give it a good night's rest, and a full stomach, and see how you feel tomorrow," Link insisted, stepping into the prince's room with two plates each of grilled chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.

Marth shook his head with a smile, already tucked in bed and seated upright with a pillow behind his head. He had been awake for about two hours, and even Dr. Mario had said the prince would be okay, but Link insisted that Marth continue to rest.

The prince took a few bites of chicken, before setting his plate on his bedside table. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, watching the Hylian prepare two cups of instant lemonade for them both.

"So, Captain Falcon sort of ran off after hearing all that stuff? And Luigi and Mewtwo followed him?"

"Pretty much..." Link responded, stirring his mashed potatoes awkwardly.

"What is it?" Marth asked.

"Well, Mewtwo also said that you..."

Marth tensed suddenly, his heart beating a little faster.

"... Said that I...?"

Link blushed.

"Mewtwo said that you... you think about me. A lot."

"Well... ah... with you... there's a lot to think about," the royal quickly replied.

Marth scooped a bite of mashed potatoes into his mouth, attempting to use the 'my mouth is full, so I can't talk right now' excuse.

The Hero followed suit, eating a few bites of asparagus. They both sat there, eating silently for a few minutes, before finally the blond snapped the silence.

"Because... I mean... I think about you a lot, too," Link admitted, taking a few sips of lemonade.

Marth lowered his cup from his lips.

"You... do?" he asked. "Like... what do you think about?"

"Probably the same thing you do," Link answered.

"You mean..." Marth blushed.

"Yeah, last winter," the Hylian confirmed. "I kind of wonder what would have happened if Captain Falcon and Samus saw us..."

"They probably would've been quite surprised, no doubt," Marth smiled.

"Might have even thrown a few snowballs," Link chuckled.

The prince slapped the Hylian's knee playfully but gently. "They would not!"

The swordsmen leaned forward in laughter, accidentally bumping their heads together, which made Marth laugh even more but made Link freak out.

"Your head... you're okay, right?" he asked, gently cradling the prince's head in his hands.

"Yes!" Marth laughed, starting to calm down. "Yes, I'm fine. Really!"

Link chuckled a little more. When they had both quieted down, the two swordsmen suddenly realized how close together their faces were.

"You know..." Marth commented softly, "I almost wonder what would have happened if they hadn't shown up..."

"I hadn't considered that..." Link pondered.

"It's kind of a similar situation, sort of..." Marth added. "I mean, we're both alone..."

The Hero's hands gently shifted to the prince's cheeks, running through that silky blue hair.

"We could... find out..." the Hylian's voice was barely above a whisper.

The prince blushed heavily - so surprised he couldn't even speak - but nodded.

Needing no further bidding, Link leaned forward and captured Marth's lips in a kiss. The prince's hands clung to the front of the Hylian's tunic desperately, leaning further into the kiss.

Who would've thought Link would be kissing Marth right now? Or that he would have actually kissed him several months prior? The thought of it made Link mentally roll his eyes, but also smile.

It was similar to how he had been holding Marth in his arms when he awakened several hours ago, and how he had done the same thing when they first met. It was similar to how they had occasionally spent the day together several times, before they had actually gone on an official 'date' - granted, a date to spy on Zelda and Roy - but it was a date nonetheless. How they could go from being friends one day, to not talking to each other for another day, to being even closer friends the day after that. Or like how Marth had started out as just his friend - his best friend, even - and now he...

... Now, he...

Link's eyes opened, gently pulling away from Marth. The prince opened his eyes slowly.

"Link...?" The Hylian gently placed a finger to the prince's lips.

"Sshh. I've got to go," he explained calmly, but smiled. "... Thank you."

"... Sure thing..." Marth replied with a dreamy smile.

The Hylian quickly and quietly left the prince's room, silently closing the door behind him. Out in the hallway, Link placed a hand to his face in frustration, leaning against the wall.

He had first realized it when he kissed Marth that winter, but he tried to ignore it. When Zelda asked him, he tried to deny it. But that kiss... and how quickly he gave in to kissing the prince in the first place... now there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, and nothing he could do about it.

Link knew.

He _loved_ Marth.

**-Chapter-End-**

**bijoukaiba: WOW! What a way to end the chapter! I'm overcome by all the drama, aren't you? This is a very important chapter because it's sort of like a 'season finale' to me, but it's very important because of the next chapter and the next 'season' of Swordplay. Why? Because the next chapter was one of the very first chapters of SP I drafted, and because it pretty much ****starts the "final season" of Swordplay****. That's right!**

**Thank you all for reading, and I hope you're excited - the finale is getting closer!**


	24. Sacrifice

**bijoukaiba: Hey everyone! We're at the proverbial "beginning of the end" of Swordplay! ... Not really much to say, other than get some popcorn - and maybe some tissues - we're in for a dramatic and action-packed chapter.**

**I claim no ownership of Super Smash Brothers Melee or any of its related characters and their respective franchises.**

**Enjoy!**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is some possibly semi-AU content ahead, but I will explain at the end of the chapter.**

**In addition, there is also a reference to ****Metroid: Other M****. In other words, there are SPOILERS for Other M in this chapter. If you want to skip the spoilers, skip Samus's flashbacks in this chapter.**

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

**Chapter 24: Sacrifice**

"Congratulations!" Master announced.

The fighters in the room applauded as Ness exited the elevator, successfully completing the very first All-Star Match the Battle Royale Suites had ever held. He had battled his way against one-on-one matches against Dr. Mario, Fox, Marth, and Kirby. He had then faced a team of his clone and Donkey Kong, a team of Link and Pichu, a team of Ganondorf and Samus, and a team of Jigglypuff and Yoshi. In terms of three-on-ones, Captain Falcon, Pikachu, and Mario had fought him, followed by Luigi, Falco, and Zelda. Young Link, Peach, and Roy had fought next, and finally Bowser, Mewtwo, and the Ice Climbers. His final match was against an army of Game and Watch clones.

"Ness, you were great!" Marth complimented.

"Yoshi!" (Good job!)

"It's a good thing we can't be hurt, otherwise I'd probably be feeling that baseball bat right now," Popo remarked. "Nice job, by the way."

The psychic boy grinned as his friends showered him with praise and compliments for fighting so well.

"Our very first All-Star Match... and yet no new fighters come around? Pretty suspicious... wouldn't you agree, Captain Falcon?" Crazy taunted.

The bounty hunter shook his head at the crazed man, walking away without a word.

"We will now take a quick break for lunch. Afterwards, we will be having standard one-on-one fights. Captain Falcon and Marth, your match is first."

"Samus," the bounty huntress found Captain Falcon's hand on her shoulder. "I need you to round up Mario, Peach, and Luigi for me. Tell them to grab lunch to go, because we'll be meeting outside, by the willow tree."

"Why are you - "

Before Samus could ask her fellow bounty hunter what he was doing, he had already approached Marth, speaking to him about something. The prince seemed to agree with whatever he was saying - but he also appeared just as confused as she was.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

"A pizza picnic-a?" Luigi asked. "This-a sounds like-a my kind of-a lunch!"

The plumber was seated between his brother and the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Now, hold on a minute," Peach cautioned, looking at the bounty huntress seated beside her. "Samus said Captain Falcon wanted to speak with us about - ah, here he is now!"

Sure enough, the racer was approaching them, with the three swordsmen behind him. Each of them had a paper plate in hand with a slice of pizza as well.

"Sorry if we're a little late," Falcon apologized. "Just everyone sit down and... well, eat. But I needed to talk to the seven of you specifically, and privately."

"Is everything okay, Captain?" Link asked, taking a seat beside Marth.

"I just... I really need to ask a big favor of you guys. And it because it HAS to be today... well, as a little kid would say, I probably 'won't ask for anything else from you guys ever again'." Captain Falcon smiled briefly at the last part, but resumed his serious composure.

"Sure, anything!" Roy assured, grinning.

"I need the seven of you to forfeit your matches today, along with me,"

Murmurs or groans arose from the seven seated fighters.

"I'm sorry, but it had to be you guys! This is probably the only chance I have! If Bowser or Ganondorf had been among the fighters, there's no way I could have asked. And I probably couldn't have waited for another day because... well... we have twenty-five fighters now. Twenty-five! Sure, Master and Crazy probably won't make twenty-four people fight in one day, but even with just twenty people fighting... I doubt I could ask twenty people to forfeit their fights."

"But-a why ask us to-a forfeit?" Mario asked. "Yesterday, you were-a just jumping off the track-a to lose on-a purpose. Why couldn't we do-a that?"

"The thing is, it would still count as a fight. We'd still have to wait for that whole hour for the next fight, the next person to lose on purpose, and then repeat the cycle. It's just a wasted day. Besides, how would YOU decide on who commits 'suicide' or forfeits to lose the match? And if only one of you forfeits, Master and Crazy would probably just throw someone else out there to fight the left-over opponent. No, it has to be a mutual forfeit. And by all of us, at the same time."

"So you think... if we all forfeit... then we don't have to waste all those hours sitting around and doing nothing." Peach confirmed. "Why do we need all that free time, then?"

"Event Matches," Captain Falcon stated. "We're down to the final three. And one requires Marth and Link, and one requires Marth and Roy."

"So it also kills two birds with one stone; we forfeit the fights and compete in the two... hold on. I thought you said there were three Events?" Roy asked.

"There are," the bounty hunter replied. "I will be competing in the third."

"I-a see, that's why you-a needed Luigi and-a I to forfeit as-a well," Mario concluded. "And-a I guess Samus and-a Peach have to forfeit for-a safe measure? To make sure time-a doesn't overlap?"

"Pretty much. Like I said, there probably won't be another chance like this. I've got to take that chance _now._"

Some of the gathered fighters exchanged a look, but finally they nodded.

"We'll-a do it,"

"Good luck, Captain,"

As the swordsman also voiced their agreement, a voice surprised them.

"_No._"

Captain Falcon turned around in surprise.

"Samus?"

"There's something you're not telling us. What are you planning to do in your Event Match?"

The bounty hunter appeared uneasy.

"That's something... I can't tell you. It's part of a plan I've crafted."

"A plan?" Samus asked. The other six fighters appeared interested now. "Then why can't any of us help you?"

"You already have. By agreeing to do this for me, you have probably played the biggest part in helping to set this up. And I'm grateful... to all of you... for doing that. But this is the part that I have to do."

"So, none of us could handle this part? Marth has fought the giant hand. Mario has fought the giant hand. They could surely handle fighting two of them -"

"Samus, calm down!" Marth finally begged.

The two bounty hunters turned to the prince.

"I'll admit it. I'm not so sure about this plan either. You have a point; I don't know why Captain Falcon has to do this. I'm... I'm even kind of worried."

"Marth, you can't drop out on me," Captain Falcon argued. "As my opponent, you're probably the person I need most to forfeit."

"I know," Marth replied. "And that's exactly why I'm going to forfeit. I may not agree with it, but I know that you need this. You ask for my help, you get it. I know that you... only want to do the right thing, Captain."

Captain Falcon turned to Samus, who seemed to be thinking about it.

"Samus...?"

She sighed.

"Fine, I'll do it. I'll forfeit. But I still don't see why any of us could fight. I know I'm certainly capable..."

"I know everyone here could fight. And I know you're capable as well," Falcon agreed. "... But that's exactly why I don't want you - any of you - fighting."

"Okay, we'll all-a forfeit our matches, we've-a established that. Now can we go inside-a?" Luigi complained. "It's-a looking like it's-a going to rain-a!"

Sure enough, the clouds had cumulated in the sky, changing it into a cottony gray barrier overhead.

"Good point," Link agreed. "Besides, lunch is probably almost over anyway. And Master and Crazy will be looking for us."

The eight fighters returned inside, most of them finding a seat to fraternize with their friends in the remaining minutes of their lunch break.

Captain Falcon finally spotted Ness at the back of the cafeteria, with a huge piece of paper spread out in front of him. He also had several paper plates beside him, each with a pool of colorful paint.

"Finally made that card, huh?" he asked, reading over the signatures. Ness, Zelda, and Fox were among the signatures he recognized, as well as a giant hand print - likely Donkey Kong's - and two different, tiny paw prints - Pichu and Pikachu.

"Yeah, I think it's looking pretty good," Ness responded. "Hey, Captain! You... you wouldn't want to sign it, would you?"

"I was actually just about to ask you if I could," the racer confirmed, slipping off his right glove and placing it in his left hand. "Hmmm... this red paint seems to stand out quite a bit. Nice and visible."

He dipped his fingertips into the red paint, and traced his signature onto the paper, right below Zelda's name.

"You know, where I'm from, that signature would probably be worth quite a lot," Captain Falcon added.

"Anyway, thanks!" Ness waved his hand - stained slightly with blue paint - at a certain prince. "Hey, Marth! Come here!"

As Captain Falcon started to stand up, his glove still in his left hand, he stumbled slightly and ended up planting his entire bare palm right in the red paint.

"Well, I better get going," the bounty hunter stated, showing off the red paint that freshly coated his right hand. "I should probably get this paint off my hand before my match starts."

"Don't take too long," Marth warned, placing his fingertips into the blue paint. "It's almost time for lunch to end, and I know Master and Crazy would throw a fit if you were late."

As if Marth had predicted it, Master and Crazy were entering the cafeteria right as the racer was leaving - in fact, he bumped into Master quite literally on his way out.

"Heading somewhere, Captain?" the mysterious man asked.

"I was going to head upstairs, get some medicine for Marth," Captain Falcon lied, folding his hands behind his back. "He's got a little bit of a headache."

"Well, it'll have to wait. I was just heading in to gather everyone for... well, you know. It's time for your matches."

Falcon frowned. "You won't even spare some medicine for Marth?"

"This isn't a good time to argue, Captain," Master growled. "After your fight, Marth can have all the pills he wants. But for now, fighting gets first priority."

Captain Falcon stepped back, allowing the head of the Battle Royale Suites into the cafeteria to announce the end of lunch.

_And now, we wait... _the bounty hunter thought, watching the other man.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

"Very well, our first match this afternoon will be between Marth and Captain Falcon." Master stated, after everyone had gathered in the taller building for their matches.

"Actually, Master..." Marth stated. "I would rather compete in an Event Match, if possible. I'd be willing to forfeit my match, if Captain Falcon would."

_Wow, Marth is quite the actor!_

"I suppose I'd be okay with it," Captain Falcon confirmed. "You did have those two matches you missed yesterday."

"Well, that's a bit of a problem," Master shook his head. "You'd have to fight Link in your first event, which would require him to forfeit his match - and he can only do so if Luigi agrees to it as well."

"I don't-a mind, do you?" Luigi asked, turning to the Hylian. Link shook his head, giving Master a thumbs-up.

"Well, the other match requires Roy to fight as well, so the same rule applies." Master stated, though his voice seemed a little faster... almost as though he were a bit more hesitant.

"Mario and I are fine with that!" Roy agreed, the plumber nodding.

"And just in case there's any problem with time, we can forfeit as well," Peach agreed.

"No, that should be plenty of time for two event matches," Master said.

"Actually, make it three," Captain Falcon stated. "If Marth is stepping out of his match to fight in an event, I'd like an Event Match challenge as well."

"Well, Peach and I are still willing to forfeit, if that's the case," Samus commented to her fellow bounty hunter, before turning to the announcer. "Is that okay, Master?"

"I don't like all this rearranging, but I suppose it will do. Very well, then, we'll start with Marth and Link, competing in the forty-first Event - 'En Guarde'."

The two swordsmen entered the elevator, and appeared on the screen shortly after, competing at the Temple arena.

The two swordsmen leapt at each other, Marth swinging his blade but missing Link. Despite landing in the crevice between the smaller pillar and the main temple itself, Marth quickly turned around and jumped back up. Link swung his sword twice at a lower angle, striking Marth once, but the prince knocked him back slightly with a swipe from his blade. Link retaliated with a strike of his own. The Hylian whipped out his hookshot, attempting to grab the prince, but he had already dodged behind Link. The blunette attempted to strike the Hero from behind, but fell short. Scooting forward by an inch, Falchion was able to connect with Link's shoulder in a smash attack. Link was knocked back slightly, but attempted to come forward for an attack; Marth repeated his same attack, knocking Link backwards once again - and even once again, as the Hero of Time tried to draw near for another attack.

Link landed in the crevice, pausing briefly to throw off Marth's timing. He jumped out again, this time out of the range of the prince's smash attack and even attempting to kick him.

Captain Falcon watched Link and Marth exchange a few blows, before Marth began repeating Smash attacks to knock the Hylian off the left side of the arena. The bounty hunter turned his attention back to Master - he couldn't let him leave the room, nor let him out of sight until...

"GYAHH!" the blond's cry distracted Captain Falcon. The racer returned his attention to the match, but still kept watch on Master out of the corner of his eye.

Link ducked into the crevice, waiting for Marth to follow him. The prince took the bait, striking Link with a forward sweep of his blade in mid-air. Link spun rapidly in the air, blade in front of him, creating a whirling vortex that struck Marth twice. The prince quickly recovered, and then used that forward smash attack he had become so fond of suddenly to knock Link out of the crevice, then jumped out of the pit himself to chase Link.

Marth jumped a little too high, though, and felt the Master Sword thrust into his hip. The prince was tossed onto the upper floor of the temple, where Link jumped up and struck him a few times with the sword before Marth put up his energy shield.

_I almost forgot we could use these!_

He rolled out of the way to dodge, but the Hero was quick to turn around and slash him twice. Marth ducked below the upper platform to the lower floor of the temple. When Link followed, he repeated his 'smashing strategy'. The Hylian dodged backwards, out of the way of the sword's range, and attempted to fire an arrow - but came up short. The prince put up his shield when the Hero drew closer, expecting him to attempt using his bow again, but was surprised instead when the hookshot caught the front of his tunic and dragged him closer to the blond.

With almost little effort, Link lifted Marth above his head and knocked him upwards with a slash from the Master Sword. Upon falling, Marth was knocked to the side by a sweep from Link's blade. The prince shook it off quickly, though, and retaliated with an aerial strike from Falchion. The Hylian, who had landed on the upper platform, ducked underneath to resume fighting, only to be struck backwards by a smash attack yet again. Marth repeated the same strategy that he had used to knock Link off before, but was thrown off when the Hylian dodged one of his strikes. Thinking quickly, Marth still managed to hit Link with his mid-air attack where he swung his blade twice around his body; this time, however, Link was caught on the backswing and knocked the opposite way.

The Hylian jumped back towards him, attempting to catch Marth underneath a piercing attack from the Master Sword; the prince, however, rolled out of the way in time. One last smash attack from Falchion was all it took to knock Link out of the arena for good.

"A new record!" Master triumphantly declared.

Link and Marth emerged from the elevator, the former with his arm around the prince's shoulders.

"We should do this more often," Link commented. "You're such a great swordsman, I love fighting you!"

"I love y... your swordsmanship, too!" Marth stumbled with his words briefly, but caught himself.

"Our next match will be 'Fire Emblem Pride', contesting Marth and Roy against an opponent! Any volunteers?"

"I'll fight again!" Link offered, raising his hand. "Now I can have my rematch!"

He grinned at the prince, who chuckled at the Hylian's eagerness. It also seemed kind of funny to think that four steps out of the elevator, they had turned around and walked back in, with Roy as company.

Captain Falcon's attention seemed even more focused on Master, and the bounty hunter was almost starting to feel nervous. Any second, the man could notice one of the keys to his plan, and then... all would be lost. He mentally requested that Marth, Roy, and Link keep their match short.

Indeed, Roy had been finished off pretty quickly - almost as if he hadn't been trying very hard - and exited the elevator as Link knocked Marth off the right side of the arena for his first KO of the prince.

"You finished pretty quickly," Peach remarked to the swordsman.

"Well, you heard them," Roy replied with a good-natured shrug. "They love sword-fighting with each other. I figured I'd let the two of them worry more about each other than me."

_Yes, but can they make the match a quick one?_

"Captain. You're still sure you want to go through with this?" Samus whispered to him. She was also watching Master now, though she didn't really see what the big deal was.

"Leave it to me," he confirmed softly, and paused for a moment. "... Since when did you start caring about me so much?"

_Since you started reminding me of someone I..._

"A new record!" Master announced as Marth flew off in the background of the temple.

Just like last time, Link and Marth emerged from the elevator together, but this time Marth had an arm around Link as well. Bowser shook his head at the sight of them together.

To think... they had both gone through two Events - two very exciting ones where they were pitted against each other in battle, and each had gotten a chance to rise victoriously above the other - could this day get any better?

A roll of thunder interrupted Marth's thoughts.

"Well, then... there's only one Event match remaining. The Final Destination Match," Master stated. "Would anyone like to volunteer...?"

"I'll go," Captain Falcon declared.

"Hmmm. Yes, somehow, I just knew you'd say that. Very well, Captain. Crazy and I will join you on the elevator ride, as we must be there to control the mechanical hands."

The two brothers made their way over to the elevator.

"Marth."

The prince turned his attention away from Link at the sound of his name.

"... Captain?"

"Remember the 'Reset' button they showed us when we started competing in Event Matches?" Captain Falcon asked, watching the prince nod in reply. "When I tell you, I want you to press it to get me out of there. If I don't say anything, DON'T press it."

Marth nodded again, and smiled. "Good luck with your Event Match! You're actually in the last fight... this could be the match to end them all!"

_It could be, Marth. It could be._

"Captain!" Master shouted. "Don't keep us waiting!"

The racer silently turned and walked towards the elevator, entering it with the other men.

And as a low roll of thunder echoed outside, the images of the doors to Sector Zero closing and locking behind her commanding officer ran through Samus's mind as she watched the elevator doors close behind Captain Falcon.

Master and Crazy seemed to dissolve from sight, as Captain Falcon found the urge to close his eyes. Upon reopening them, he found himself standing upon that large battlefield where his fellow fighters had always fought that same giant gloved hand. Sure enough, glancing behind him, he saw a gigantic gloved hand - based on the position of the thumb, it appeared to be the left hand. And across from him, the right hand...

Captain Falcon smirked.

His plan had been a success!

Back in the lobby, the fighters were looking forward to watching Captain Falcon fight against the gloved hands... when they noticed something unusual.

"What's wrong with the hand on the right?" Falco asked out loud. He had pretty much vocalized everyone's thoughts.

The hand on the right was no longer clad in its usual white glove; it seemed to have red blotches all over it - like stains... bright red paint stains!

"Brother? You look - " came a voice from the left side of the arena - it almost seemed as if the left hand itself had spoken!

"HUSH!" a voice on the right side - possibly the right hand? - replied. "Umm... this is just Master on the, um, intercom. I think we may be having technical difficulties, causing the mechanical hand to appear brightly colored. Or it might have also been a prank pulled overnight. Or - "

"Or you could be lying to everyone!" Captain Falcon shouted. He removed the glove from his right hand, and turned in a slow 360, so the spectators of the match - wherever they were watching from - could see the red paint that stained the racer's bare palm. "After all, I never believed a word you said... I just had to find the right time to catch you red-handed!"

Any other time, one of the fighters would have likely groaned upon realizing that a corny pun had been used. But today... this was no laughing matter.

"You _do_ know where we came from as fighters, don't you? Starting with our initial group, and continuing with the mysterious introduction of Marth and the others. In fact, you probably know about Marth a little too well, don't you?"

"What is Captain Falcon talking about?" Marth asked, a look of concern on his face as he watched the screen.

"But then, his memories started popping up again." the painted hand clenched into a fist, as though uneasy. "He has a hidden memory of two giant, gloved hands crushing his friend, Shiida, and his sister, Elice. And yet, how strange... with all the mystery surrounding the two 'mechanical hands'... with nobody knowing who Shiida or Elice are... only TWO people conveniently happen to know they died in a supposed accident!"

Marth gasped, his eyes widening.

"_Master and Crazy..._"

"Do you see why they both knew something only the 'hands' and Marth would know? Do you see why that hand called the other one 'brother'? Do you see why they start acting strangely before a new fighter is introduced? Do you see why Master disappeared mysteriously before Classic Mode was held? Do you see why..." Captain Falcon paused to tug his right glove on again, preparing for a fight. "... after I found a way to mark your hand - by bumping into you on purpose after I had been working with fresh paint - the exact same marks and stains show up on the 'hand' that were left on Master's glove? Do you see why Master and Crazy wear these gloves in the first place?"

"Captain..." the glove on the right seemed to growl at the bounty hunter. "... Stop. Talking."

Captain Falcon pointed a finger at the glove on the right. "Master and Crazy don't CONTROL the hands! They ARE the hands!"

A surprised sound came from both the gloves, and their audience even seemed skeptical as well.

"He can't be serious, can he?" Fox asked.

A slow chuckle finally came from the glove on the right.

"Well, well. It seems as though we underestimated you, Captain Falcon," commented the right hand. "You are correct. We are the Hand Brothers. I am Master Hand, and he is my brother, Crazy Hand."

"It's hard to say, really... would we consider ourselves warlocks with skills in technology? Or perhaps engineers who got hold of some high-power magic?" the hand on the left added.

"A couple of criminals, if you ask me," the bounty hunter snarled. "You kidnapped us, held two women hostage, _killed_ them, and turned us into a fighting experiment for your own entertainment. _Why_ did you do that, anyway?"

"If you want to know, you'll have to defeat us first!" Crazy Hand taunted.

"And since we underestimated you outside of battle, I KNOW we won't make the same mistake in an actual fight," Master Hand exaggerated. The hand floated slightly higher, before snapping its fingers. The spectators could hear the sound of thunder clapping outside.

A weird sensation swept through Captain Falcon's body after Master Hand snapped his fingers. He oddly felt more aware of his presence in the arena. It felt like gravity was in effect in this stage, with a slight bit of added pressure weighing down his body. The room around him seemed slightly cooler than before. Compared with how he had felt in all of his fights previously, this was a strange and foreign sensation for battle.

"What... did you do?" the racer asked.

"You seem to be the real genius among your fellow fighters. A real warrior," Crazy Hand explained. His voice suddenly filled with venom. "_So we're going to make this a real fight._"

"Falcon, watch out!" Marth cried out.

Although the bounty hunter couldn't hear the prince, he turned around just in time to see Master Hand sweep towards him in a slapping motion. The hand collided with Falcon with enough force to knock the beloved helmet from his head. The hunter fell onto his stomach on the ground but had no time to gather his thoughts, as he had to roll along the ground to dodge Crazy Hand slamming his palm into the ground. The rolling left Captain Falcon slightly dizzy, but he tried to ignore it as he got to his feet. No sooner had he straightened his posture than he was suddenly knocked forward again by Master Hand flicking him powerfully in the back. Captain Falcon's side skidded along the rough metallic turf, finally rolling to a stop on his stomach. He tried to catch his breath, opting to just lie there instead of returning to his feet.

"What is he doing?" Bowser roared. "Quit hamming it up and fight! He hasn't even touched them yet!"

In contrast, Pichu seemed to be in tears.

"Pi... chu..." (Cap... tain...)

Samus picked up the smaller electric Pokemon, trying to comfort it.

"It's okay, Pichu... pull yourself together! Captain Falcon will be okay. I know - " Samus flinched as Master Hand took on a jet form and collided with Captain Falcon, who was tossed onto his back with a shout. " - I know things look bad, but he can't really be hurt."

"Pi pichu pi_... pichu?_" (Then why is he_... bleeding_?) the Pokemon whimpered.

Samus's head shot up, her eyes focused on the screen. In her shock, she accidentally dropped Pichu - who was barely caught in a diving save by Pikachu.

"Bleeding?"

"He's what?" Marth gasped.

Crazy Hand took on an eerie pose, his fingers crooked much like a spider's legs. His arachnid-like form crawled across the stage, capturing Captain Falcon like a fly in a web. The bounty hunter was caught in a cloud of dark energy, unsure of what the deep purple cloud would do to him and not wanting to find out. Unfortunately, he got his answer as he was dragged along - tiny needles of dark energy raked across his body, tearing small shreds in his uniform and flesh. The watching fighters gasped at the gashing sounds and Captain Falcon's agonizing shout of pain.

Master Hand repeated the sweeping slap attack, knocking Captain Falcon onto his stomach in the middle of the arena. Now all of the fighters could see a gaping hole along the side of Captain Falcon's uniform, revealing two long slashes on the side of his torso that leaked blood. The right hand signaled for Crazy to stop.

For a moment, the fighters thought the bounty hunter had finally succumbed to the Hands' power. Then, much to their relief, he stirred, pulling himself onto his elbows and knees. Panting heavily, he shifted himself onto his hands and knees in a more upright position.

"Marth..." Captain Falcon lifted his head, a small stream of blood leaking from his mouth. He started to lift himself onto his feet. "Don't..."

_Don't...?_ Marth panicked. _Don't what? Don't end the match? Don't let the fight continue?_

Falcon stumbled forward, back onto his hands and knees.

"It's like they say," Crazy Hand commented disdainfully. "How are the mighty fallen!"

The bounty hunter glared at the hand, planting a firm hand on the ground and lifting himself to his feet. He stumbled, but caught his balance quickly, holding his fists in front of him in a fighter's stance.

"He's still trying to fight?" Ganondorf questioned. "This is a joke!"

"It's a suicide mission, that's what it is," Falco stated coldly.

Samus held her breath, the scene replaying in her mind...

**Flashback**

_Samus gripped the doorway, staggering to her feet._

_"Hold on, Adam," she stumbled, but caught her balance quickly. "What are you planning to do with the Metroids here in Sector Zero?"_

_"Leave it to me. I'll deal with this place," he stated._

_"You have a plan for dealing with Metroids that can't be frozen?" she asked._

_The cold had always been the weakness of the Metroids... if the genetically engineered creatures had no weakness to freezing... then how could Commander Malkovich possibly defeat them? There was something he wasn't telling her, and Samus did not like it._

_Then finally, he spoke._

_"... Sector Zero has a self-destruct protocol. If the sector receives a significant amount of damage, the unit is programmed to detach and self-destruct. A powerful explosion will eliminate the Metroids and MB without leaving a trace."_

_"Don't you dare, Adam! Let me go in. I'm the only one who has a shot against the Metroids. We have to take the chance!" Samus took a step closer. "Please, Adam! You have to trust me! You have to trust me, just give me a chance..."_

**End Flashback**

"You still want to fight?" Crazy laughed. "This is a riot! The noble Captain Falcon... he won't go down until he's dead! Well, don't worry..."

Crazy formed a fist, hovering overhead. The racer narrowed his eyes.

"We'd be happy to oblige!" the hand practically screamed, punching the ground.

Captain Falcon rolled out of the way, dodging the fist cleanly, then leapt towards Crazy Hand, kicking off of the glove's firm wrist for an added jump.

"Kind of like one of those wall-jump things Captain Falcon has done before," Kirby commented, though nobody paid attention.

Everyone's eyes were on the bounty hunter, who now leapt towards Master Hand, his fist drawn back and glowing with power.

"FALCOOONN..."

"Do it, Captain!" a few fighters cheered.

"PUUNNNCH!" the racer extended his arm in a powerful punch, striking Master's index finger. The hand howled in agony at the blow.

Cheers arose from the crowd of fighters, as Master's on-screen HP took a serious plunge. However, the cheering did not last long; for where there is a right hand, there will be a left.

Seconds after Captain Falcon had delivered the powerful punch to Master, Crazy Hand swept forward, grabbing the bounty hunter cruelly by his extended arm.

A sickening snap sound could be heard, followed by an excruciating yell from Captain Falcon.

"That was an odd noise, brother..." Crazy commented, as the bounty hunter futilely tried beating his free arm against the giant hand's fingers to release him. "It reminded me of a branch cracking. Or maybe it was more like the sound of a carrot being snapped? I can't decide. Tell me, Master..."

The left hand floated to the center of the stage, Captain Falcon's arm still in his clutches.

"Did it sound like this?" Crazy Hand cruelly clenched his fist until another crack was heard, eliciting a garbled shout of pain from his victim. "Or maybe like this?"

He clenched his fist again, laughing wickedly at the racer's suffering. Crazy threw Captain Falcon to the ground, slamming the back of his head and shoulders against the flat arena. The fighters gasped in horror, and even the crueler ones flinched at the attack.

"That... hurt..." the glove growled, flexing his index finger before clenching into a fist.

"Come on, Captain! Get up!" Zelda pleaded.

"It's no good, Zelda," Peach told her fellow princess, "I think he's out cold!"

Master hovered above the racer's collapsed form, poised to attack.

"Marth-a, get him out of-a there!" Luigi yelped. "They're-a going to _kill_ him!"

The prince was frozen with shock, his mind screaming at him to press the button, but he was too horrified to move - like a deer caught in headlights.

_Do something!_ Samus mentally begged the prince.

"Now everyone can see what happens when challenge our authority!" Master declared, drawing his fist back. "Captain Falcon's death will set a good example for you!"

"NO!"

Marth was knocked onto his side, his world going dark for a few moments. For a brief moment, he thought he might have passed out after watching his friend get killed, but then realized he was still awake.

"You okay, Marth?"

The prince opened his eyes to see Link kneeling beside him. The Hylian helped the royal get to his feet. He seemed fairly calm, considering that Captain Falcon had just been...

"What happened?" he worriedly held onto Link's arm. "I panicked and couldn't... I tried not to... is Captain Falcon... he's not..."

He glanced behind Link and saw Samus bent over the 'End Match' button instead, having slammed it herself. On screen, Master Hand had frozen in midair above Captain Falcon, perhaps a foot away from hitting him. Marth pieced it together and realized she must have knocked him over in the process of activating the button.

The screens went black, indicating the match had officially ended.

"I'll get Dr. Mario," Fox told Zelda, before sprinting out of the room.

"Thank you, Samus... I'm sorry, I panicked and then..." the prince approached the bounty huntress. "... Samus?"

**Flashback**

_Adam cocked his gun, turned, and took the steps that would lead to his imminent death._

_"Wait!" Samus called, starting to run after him. Her Power Suit was returning to its normal functions, however, which briefly stunned her body. "Adam!"_

_She forced herself to move, still trying to stop the man. He continued walking, as though he hadn't heard her._

_"Wait! Adam!" the doors out of the room opened for the Commander, closed behind him, and locked. There was no going back now._

_"Please, wait!" Samus begged, hammering her fists against the windows on the doors. "Adam!"_

_As she watched the doors to Sector Zero open, she continued to scream his name, trying to somehow change his mind. Malkovich slowed to a stop, and turned to face her one last time._

_She couldn't hear him, but knew what he had said. It was like tradition._

_'No objections, right, Lady?'_

_Samus's vision blurred as she gave him the usual reply - a thumbs down._

_For a moment, she thought she saw the briefest trace of a smile on his face. Then he turned and walked down the hallway, the doors to Sector Zero closing and locking behind him._

_Samus's fingers feebly grasped at the window, a few tears escaping her._

_Adam was gone._

**End Flashback**

"I watched someone I cared about walk to his death," Samus stated. "I wasn't going to go through that again."

The sound of the elevator arriving caught the attention of everyone in the room.

"Captain?" Link asked, watching the doors open.

Master and Crazy - in their human forms now - left the elevator, the former leaning on Crazy as he limped out.

"Damn it! I knew that punch of his _hurt_, but I didn't think it would leave me... crippled!" Master spat. "I'll probably have my foot in a cast for weeks!"

"It's okay, brother - we beat him, that's what matters. You know, I can't believe Falcon actually thought he could defeat us. With all that snooping he's been doing, I think he had it coming. I say he deserved it," Crazy said to his brother with a nod.

Master looked around the room at the fighters that were either glaring at him in malice or staring at him in shock.

"What? You think any of you can do something about this? You all know Captain Falcon is one of the best fighters among you. If he can't stop us, what makes you think any of YOU can?"

Before anyone could protest or retaliate, Master and Crazy had left the building.

Marth ignored them, as he was far more worried about his friend than dealing with the dastardly duo. He looked in the elevator and saw his friend... on the floor. Marth tried to blink back the tears in his eyes as he knelt beside the racer.

Captain Falcon was a proud man, with radiating confidence and a handsome smile. The type of man who stood with his back straight and chest puffed out - the look of a true champion who knew no fear.

Now he was on his back on the floor, unconscious. His uniform had been shredded in several places, and his skin underneath was bruised or bleeding. His left arm was draped over his chest, the right - which Crazy had clenched - was extended by his side. A hole in his uniform's sleeve revealed a swollen area in his lower arm.

Samus placed a hand on Marth's shoulder for comfort, kneeling beside him. She gently placed two fingers against Captain Falcon's throat.

"He's still alive," she tried to reassure. Her tone dropped. "He's just... hurt."

The doors burst open, with Fox literally dragging in Dr. Mario, their clothes dampened by the rain. Joy jogged in after them, a stretcher under her arm.

"I was-a in the middle of-a giving Alice her check-up, you know-a!" the doctor complained.

"I'm sure... she can wait," Fox panted. "But this is an emergency... Captain Falcon's hurt."

"Pardon-a me," Dr. Mario said to the prince and bounty huntress, getting to his knees beside the racer.

Marth and Samus stood up and stepped back, allowing the doctor to examine the bounty hunter's injuries. The huntress collected Falcon's helmet in the process. Dr. Mario checked for a pulse and leaned over the racer to listen for breathing. He examined the rest of the Captain's injuries visually, but did palpate a few areas. The doctor finally beckoned Joy over, placing the stretcher parallel to Falcon's body.

"How is he, Doctor?" the nurse asked.

Dr. Mario tried to keep his voice down, to discuss the matter confidentially, but the room had become so quiet that he was still audible to the fighters present.

"There doesn't seem-a to be anything life-threatening... his pulse seems-a good, but his-a breathing could be better-a. He might-a have a pulmonary contusion or broken-a ribs, so-a I'd like to run an x-ray on-a his torso. I also want-a an x-ray of his-a right arm to check the extent of-a the damage."

"Extent?" Joy asked.

The doctor shook his head grimly.

"If I had-a to guess, I'd-a predict he has a closed-a distal radial fracture. All I know-a is, he's-a definitely broken his-a arm."

The doctor looked up at the rest of the fighters. "Is-a there anything else I should-a know?"

"He... he hit his head and shoulders..." Zelda answered timidly.

"Hmmm... a head-a injury..." the doctor murmured, still trying to keep his voice low. "Don't-a have a CT scan for-a that, but we'll hope-a for the best..."

He glanced up.

"Now-a then, I just need some-a help with moving-a him to the medical ward. I need-a something to use as a temporary splint-a, first," the doctor ordered, speaking up.

"Wait a minute," Link took one of his arrows and broke off the point and tail. "I don't know if this'll do, but..."

Dr. Mario tested the arrow. "It's-a a little more flexible than-a I would like, but it-a should be fine. I also need-a something to tie it with, and something soft for-a cushioning Captain Falcon's arm-a."

"Here-a," for a moment, Dr. Mario was surprised by the sound of his voice, but then remembered he had a duplicate in this world. Mario - the one more often clad in red - was holding out a folded yellow cape to him, likely the one he used in fighting. "I hope this-a helps."

"And I have some strings," Ness added, holding them up.

"Yes, those are both-a fine," Dr. Mario confirmed. The sight of Ness shuffling his feet across the floor puzzled the doctor, before he realized that he had unlaced his sneakers to give away his shoestrings.

As Dr. Mario prepared Captain Falcon's splint, Marth's eyes wandered across the room to Mewtwo. Pichu was clinging to the psychic Pokemon's leg, clearly still upset by the incident a few minutes ago, but the taller creature did not seem to be making any effort to comfort the electric Pokemon. Come to think of it, Mewtwo did not seem to be affected by Captain Falcon's injuries at all...

"I'm going to need-a some help moving him onto the-a stretcher," Dr. Mario continued, having finished setting the splint. Luigi and Roy exchanged a look.

"We can do-a that,"

"Yeah..." Roy added, his voice notably softer. "... Hey... Falcon's going to be okay, right?"

Dr. Mario shook his head. "I can't-a be sure... but, as-a a doctor, I will try everything in-a my power to help him-a recover."

Roy, Luigi, and Dr. Mario carefully shifted the racer onto the stretcher. The doctor carefully positioned the Captain's arm so it wouldn't dangle from the stretcher while he was being moved.

"We could help carry him out too, if you'd like," Roy offered.

"Yes-a, that would-a be very helpful. Thank you," the doctor replied, as a roll of thunder was heard outside. "Now, if there was someway to keep-a him warm..."

Marth stepped forward silently, unfastening his brooch, and undraping his cape from his shoulders. He covered Captain Falcon with it from the shoulders down, letting a hand linger on his older friend's shoulder.

"_Please be okay. I'm sorry,_" the prince whispered, stepping away from the bounty hunter.

Roy and Luigi lifted the two ends of the stretcher, with Dr. Mario and Nurse Joy on either side, and departed the room. The other fighters silently watched them leave.

"You know... for a long time, I was just happy fighting here for fun..." Ness commented sadly. "Then something like this happens... and it makes me realize just how long I've been here. How long it's been since I got to have a steak dinner with my family... how long it's been since I actually went to school... and it just makes me wish I could go home again."

A lot of fighters in the room murmured in agreement then fell silent yet again.

Peach glanced around the room in confusion, finally breaking the silence.

"... Where's Samus?"

Out in the stormy weather, Samus watched from the side of the building as Captain Falcon was moved into the fighters' housing facility. She held the racer's helmet tighter against her body, raindrops and teardrops falling against its surface.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

"Why did I freeze up?" Marth asked, his face buried in a pillow. "If I hadn't been so shocked by what happened... Captain Falcon would probably still be okay..."

Link, seated beside the prince on his bed, gently rubbed the royal's back.

"You were just surprised by what happened. Nobody was expecting Master and Crazy to actually hurt Captain Falcon... heck, I don't think anybody expected Captain Falcon to have some sort of secret plan revealing that Master and Crazy were actually the floating hands all along."

He patted the prince's shoulder.

"If you don't feel like going down to dinner, I'll bring back some food for you. Okay?"

"Okay," Marth replied, muffled by the pillow.

The Hylian left the room, literally bumping into Samus in the hallway.

"Sorry about that," Link apologized. "Hey, Samus."

"Hi, Link."

"So... what's up?"

"I just finished dinner, so I was heading back up to my room," the bounty huntress replied. "You?"

"I've just been talking with Marth," Link answered. "I was actually about to go get dinner for us as..."

The Hero's voice trailed off as the door to the medical ward opened and Nurse Joy stepped out.

"Nurse?" Samus addressed the pink-haired woman.

"Good evening. Miss Aran. Link," she smiled briefly. "Or should I say, 'greenie'? I was just about to go get dinner."

"Wait," the bounty huntress requested. "Captain Falcon... how is he?"

Joy sighed, knowing they were going to continue asking until they got an answer. She lowered her eyes to the floor.

"I'm very sorry..."

**-End-Chapter-**

**bijoukaiba: Looking back at previous chapters - when Samus referred to Adam Malkovich and hinted at his death - I realized that based on the timeline of the Metroid games and based on when they coincided with Super Smash Brothers Melee, Adam would probably still be **_**alive**_** at this point in the timeline. However, I started writing this fanfiction - and had this chapter planned - before Other M and this part of the Metroid canon. So I hope you will pardon this error in the timeline. I did, however, want to use the dialogue to portray the scene. So think of the AU as... same event, different timing.**

**Wow. The ending seemed a little rushed, but... wow.**

**I know... some readers might argue - "Hey! He's Captain Falcon! He can't be hurt or killed! He'll Falcon Punch you for trying to hurt him!" But when you watch the anime, or play F-Zero, you have to realize... he's only human. An awesome human, yes. But as a human, there is still only so much he can physically take before being hurt. **

**And actually, being able to overcome pain... being able to overcome injury... or at least enduring it to protect or help someone else... I think that shows more strength than someone who has no weakness and goes through the same thing.**

**I can't believe... he went through so much. Captain Falcon... I almost cried at the end of writing his fight. SERIOUSLY, I almost did. Especially when all those fighters were helping make a splint for Falcon and helping move him to the medical room... it just shows how strong the friendship between our major characters is.**


	25. For a Friend

**bijoukaiba: We had quite a cliffhanger last time... I'll just get to the disclaimer here. My usual "introduction staff" probably won't be back for a while.**

**I claim no ownership of Super Smash Brothers Melee. All related characters and their respective franchises are property of Nintendo.**

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

**Chapter 25: For a Friend**

Joy sighed, lowering her eyes to the floor.

"I'm very sorry..."

Samus's heart was racing.

This wasn't happening... it couldn't end like this. Her parents had died, then the Chozo that raised her, and then Adam Malkovich. And then... the one time she had managed to try to save someone she cared about... it was still no good?

"He..."

Link's solemn voice interrupted the bounty huntress's thoughts.

"He's not... dead, is he?"

Joy swiftly straightened her posture.

"Oh! Oh, goodness, no!" she reassured.

The two blonds sighed in relief, Samus clasping a hand to her chest. Everyone in the hallway jumped, however, when a door slammed open.

"He's alive?" Marth gasped. He was smiling, but his face was slightly flushed and his eyes showed signs of redness.

"Yes," Joy confirmed.

"... Then... what happened to him?" the prince asked, now changing to a worried tone.

"According to medical standards, that information is supposed to be classified to only family and close friends. However, as far as the Battle Royale Suites is concerned, I am sure that would likely apply to the three of you," the nurse explained.

The three fighters waited for her to go on.

"Well, as Dr. Mario predicted, Captain Falcon fractured his right arm. A closed, distal fracture of the radius, to be precise - so he was correct in that aspect as well. He also cracked a rib, and sustained a minor pulmonary contusion, in addition to several other minor cuts and bruises."

Link and Marth appeared confused.

"Pulmonary contusion... he bruised a lung," Joy explained to the swordsman. "Oh, and the fracture of radius means he broke one of the bones in his arm. Good news is, there were no signs of internal bleeding. He bit his tongue pretty badly, but that's the reason why he spat out some blood during his fight, as we were told."

"It sounds painful..." Marth grimaced. "I wonder if he can even talk..."

Joy shook her head.

"That's... the bad news. Captain Falcon is still unconscious. We don't really know how bad the trauma to the back of his head was. He could possibly go blind, develop seizures... we don't know when... or even if he will wake up. He might remain comatose."

"... Can I still go in to see him?" the royal asked, a trace of pleading in his voice.

"A fighter actually injured in a match is to remain isolated until they are completely healed."

The three friends stared at her in shock.

"What?" Marth cried, his face paling. "But you just said... he might never get better!"

"I know, and I'm sorry! But as long as the doctor or I am in that room, nobody is allowed to enter. Marth, I understand you're upset - "

"Upset? _Upset?_" something inside of the prince seemed to snap. "It's my fault he's in there! And I can't apologize? Thanks for making me feel even guiltier!"

"I told you, I'm sorry! But Master and Crazy are - in a way - my bosses, and as such, I have to follow their policies!"

"Policies?" Samus asked. She folded her arms, seeming to take sides with the prince. "The - _monsters_ - who wrote those policies are the ones who did this to Captain Falcon in the first place!"

Marth turned on his heel, slamming the door to his room behind him, much to the surprise of everyone in the hallway.

"Marth - Marth, wait!" Link knocked on the door.

The prince opened the door, allowing the Hylian in, but slammed it behind them.

"Marth!" Link called again, now inside Marth's room.

He watched the prince storm off to the opposite side of the room, unsure of what he would do next. It seemed Marth didn't know either, as all he could do was beat his fist against the wall with a frustrated scream.

"Marth..." Link's tone softened, placing his hands on the blunette's heaving shoulders.

Marth turned around suddenly, throwing his arms around Link and burying his face in the Hylian's chest. Poor Marth... he really was taking this harder than anybody else, wasn't he?

"No..." the prince whispered, slightly muffled. Link gently wrapped his arms around him.

"I can't keep doing this," Marth stated, his voice a little louder.

Much to Link's surprise, the prince gently pulled himself out of the embrace. Looking him in the eyes, Link could see no trace of tears.

"Look at me... every time something goes wrong, I just collapse into your arms. I can't keep expecting you to pick me up when things go wrong, Link," the royal explained.

"Oh," the Hero responded with a small frown, dropping his hands to his sides.

"Oh! N-no, no! It's not you, it's me," Marth assured, placing a hand on the Hylian's shoulder.

"But, you see, that's what I mean... whenever I've been faced with some sort of challenge, I always turn to someone for comfort. Back home, it was my sister or Shiida. Here, it's been you. I'm supposed to be the ruler of my kingdom... the hero of my people. What would they think of me, if they knew that if every time some sort of challenge came up, I needed help because I couldn't handle things on my own? Other kingdoms could see that as a weakness, and attack those very same people I wasn't strong enough to protect."

_Come to think of it, Master and Crazy have toyed with Marth's emotions a lot,_ Link thought to himself.

"What are you going to do about it?" Link asked.

Marth seemed to ask himself the same question, his eyes shifting to the floor as though he'd find the answer at his feet. He sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I'm going to fight them," the prince declared. "Someone has to do it, and I want that someone to be me."

"Master Hand and Crazy Hand?" Link asked.

"Yes. What they did to Captain Falcon was just... unforgivable. They could have killed him! I'm not going to stand for that. I'm going to avenge his injuries by defeating them."

"Marth, listen to me. Your idea is very noble, but I also think it's a bit... rash. Master and Crazy hate you almost as much as Captain Falcon! They'd probably put you through the same torment - no, probably even more! If that's what they can do to one of our best fighters, I don't want to imagine the effects the same torture would have on you! What makes you think you can defeat them?"

"I'm fighting for a friend," Marth replied. "I have to have courage."

Link stood there silently, awestruck by his friend's courage, amazed at his nobility, and concerned for his safety.

"Then please, accept my help on one condition. The fight is yours, but I want to at least help you train. I want to make sure you'll be prepared for whatever the Hands try against you."

Now Marth seemed to be the one who was concerned, rising to his feet. "You say you're worried about my safety in the fight, but you're not worried about what would happen if Master and Crazy found out that you assisted me?"

"It's all right," Link reassured, placing a hand on Marth's shoulder. His other hand, he turned to show Marth the emblem of the Triforce that rested on it. He managed a smile. "It's for a friend. I think I've got the courage to handle it."

Marth took Link's hand, but shifted it into a handshake position. The prince smiled.

"I guess I've got myself a training partner, then."

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

_"Adam!" Samus cried out, running to his collapsed body. "Adam, no!"_

_She knelt beside his body, but suddenly froze in horror._

_This was __not__ Adam._

_Commander Malkovich had dark hair and no marks on his face; this man had brown hair and a scar through his left eyebrow._

_"Captain Falcon!"_

_She reached out a hand, trying to awaken him, when suddenly the white scenery around her vanished, along with her fellow bounty hunter. In great contrast, everything had faded to black, and Samus now found herself standing on the platform-like battlefield known as Final Destination._

_The huntress watched the familiar scene in horror, unable to tear her eyes away - the bounty hunter delivering a Falcon Punch to Master Hand, Crazy Hand grabbing Captain Falcon's arm, and then the sickening snap of his arm breaking._

_The sound of the bone cracking and Captain Falcon's blood-curdling cry of pain echoed through the air, amplified in Samus's ears. She fell to her knees, clasping her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the sound._

_"Stop it..." Samus pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper. She peeked up at Crazy Hand and Falcon, reliving the torturous scene of the gigantic glove squeezing the racer's broken arm, and his agonizing shouts once again._

_"Let him go!" she screamed, trying to find some method of ending the torture - Captain Falcon wasn't the only one being tormented by reliving the battle._

_The leviathan hand paused its clenching, which gave Samus a flash of relief, but then she remembered all too well what came next. Crazy Hand drew himself back, curled back his wrist, and threw the racer to the - _

"NO!" Samus shouted, sitting up in bed.

A small bead of sweat trickled down her temple as she clutched her sheets to her chest, panting, trying to reassure herself it had only been a dream.

That was the problem, though - it wasn't _just_ a dream -it had actually happened, and now Captain Falcon was contained in the medical ward with a broken arm, possibly in a coma, after the events of the battle against the Hands.

_I have to see him._ Samus told herself. It was an odd feeling - part of her wanted to see her fellow bounty hunter to reassure herself that he was still alive. The other part just wanted to see him... like she missed him - longing, perhaps?

The blonde climbed out of bed and peered through the blinds. The sky had changed from black to violet blue, with lighter shades mingling on the horizon. A yawn escaped her as she slipped out of her pajamas into more casual attire - a green tank top and a pair of black shorts. As she left the room, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and closed the door behind her.

She crept down the hallway to the stairway, then made her way down to the third floor. Samus slunk across the wall, glancing over each of her shoulders every two seconds. At last she made it to the medical ward. She checked over her shoulder one last time before opening the door a crack. She could see the foot of a bed - perhaps where Captain Falcon was resting? - and there was an audible, steady beeping sound, but there was no sign of movement. Once again, Samus checked behind her, before cracking the door open further - enough to poke her head into the doorway. Much to Samus's relief, there was nobody in the room; however, she was also disappointed that the medical staff would leave their patient unattended.

She stepped into the room, looking around - the other beds were still untouched, and the counters were still spotless and organized. There was one bed, however, that had somebody resting in it, with an electrical device placed nearby - clearly responsible for the beeping noise. Much to her surprise, Samus realized she had been holding her breath in anticipation. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she stepped over to the bed and gazed down at the patient.

Captain Falcon was no longer clad in his traditional uniform and helmet; he had been switched to a simple white hospital gown. Bandages were wrapped around his forehead, and a good portion of his left arm; his right arm had been placed in a cast. One of the fingers on his right hand appeared to have some kind of clip-on probe clasped over it, and it was wired to the machine. There was a screen that displayed a wavy line and various numbers - perhaps this was an oximeter or some other kind of pulse monitor? The wires from the oximeter ran up through a small hole in the ceiling - so perhaps that meant Dr. Mario was monitoring his vitals from his room.

It seemed hard to believe Captain Falcon had actually been attacked; he looked too peaceful to be considered injured - like he was merely sleeping instead. It gave Samus a brief flicker of hope, but she shook it off quickly. Spotting a chair on wheels, she pulled it over to sit down at his left.

"At least you survived," Samus remarked, though she knew Captain Falcon wouldn't respond. "But who am I kidding? We don't want you to survive; we want you to _live_ - like you did before all of this. Marth is worried sick about you, you know. He's probably still beating himself up about it, even though Master and Crazy are the only ones to blame. He might never forgive himself if you don't get better. And, of course, I want you to recover... because I..."

The huntress paused - did she really want to admit _that_? Not so much to the racer, but to herself? It wasn't like it was morally wrong, but... it just surprised her that she hadn't felt this way in a while.

Timidly, Samus reached out and gently let her hand rest in Captain Falcon's open palm.

"_I miss you._"

Perhaps on instinct, his thumb twitched, momentarily tapping against her fingers. The huntress couldn't help but smile briefly.

Then his four other fingers curled over her hand in a gentle grip, his thumb gently resting against her index finger. Her eyes widened as Captain Falcon shifted around in bed with a soft groan and the oximeter's numbers began to rise.

He was awakening.

Samus stood up suddenly, leaning over him in anticipation. Captain Falcon's eyes slowly opened - please, let him still be able to see! - blinking several times. The darkness faded into gray, forming several blurry but distinct shapes. Then the shapes started to take on color - a blonde-like yellow, green, and black. His vision finally focused, and he realized that Samus was gazing down at him.

"Sa... mus?" he asked slowly. She smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Captain. It's me," she confirmed, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Do you remember anything?"

"Just a lot of pain in my arm... then Crazy threw me to the ground... but I don't remember the rest of the - the match!" his eyes widened, suddenly more alert.

"Samus, what happ - " Captain Falcon started to sit up abruptly, but Samus placed a hand to his chest and gently forced him to lie back down.

"Easy, easy! You've been through a lot," Samus warned.

For the first time, Captain Falcon noticed the bandages covering his left arm, and the foreign sensation of something wrapped around his torso and forehead - more bandages, no doubt. He glanced over at the probe clipped on his finger, and then did a double take at the sight of the cast covering his right arm.

"Well..." he remarked at last, lifting his right arm to examine the cast. "... I guess THAT happened."

"Just... keep it down a little... I'm not supposed to be in here, but it's a bit of a long story."

"All right," Captain Falcon replied. "So, then... why are you here?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," the blonde answered. "Because Marth's been worried about you."

_And so was I._

Samus froze at the sound of footsteps in the hallway.

"It's Joy!" she gasped.

"Hide under the bed, quick!" Captain Falcon suggested.

Samus glared at him, her face red.

"Really? Did you really say that? If you weren't injured, I would have smacked you for that!"

"I said under the _bed!_" Captain Falcon hissed between gritted teeth, now a matching shade of red. "Not under the _covers!_"

Samus got down onto her hands and knees, and then onto her stomach, sliding under the bed. Captain Falcon helped her hide by pulling his sheets over the side of the bed where Samus would have been visible to Joy. His new cast, however, hindered his speed.

_I haven't had this cast for twenty-four hours, but I already hate the damn thing!_

Captain Falcon quickly faked being at rest as the nurse entered the room. She read over the readings of the oximeter as she placed a bottle of water on his bedside tray. Captain Falcon wiggled slightly, eliciting a startled gasp from the lady, then slowly opened his eyes. Hamming it up a little more, he faked a yawn.

"Nurse... Joy?" he asked wearily. "Where... am I?"

"The medical ward," she answered, clearly still in disbelief. "You've been unconscious for over twelve hours and... quite frankly, you're lucky to be alive."

"That long?" he asked. Come to think of it, Samus didn't exactly tell him how long he had been 'out'. His stomach gurgled. "Well, that would also explain why I'm kind of hungry..."

Joy adjusted the bedside tray in front of him.

"I'll try to bring you something to go with that bottle of water in a few minutes... you see, patients that have suffered head trauma are supposed to be kept on the clear liquid diet for a few hours,"

Captain Falcon frowned. "That doesn't mean I can only have water, does it?"

"No, not all. Along with water, you can have certain kinds of juice, clear soda and sports drinks, broth, gelatin, popsicles... I know it's not really spectacular, but it's just a safety measure - we don't want you throwing up after a head injury, after all. I'll ask Dr. Mario, but probably after lunch you'll be free to resume your regular diet."

"All right, I have another question - how long do I have to stay here?" Captain Falcon questioned.

Joy made a face, searching for an answer before she made her reply.

"Well, based on your talking ability and comprehension, I would presume your neurological functions are up to standard - that would certainly be a good sign that your head trauma wasn't as bad as feared. So I guess you'd be released as soon as your arm heals."

"Hold on - just because my arm is in a cast, I'm confined to the medical ward?"

Joy appeared uncomfortable. "Yes, and... there's a little more bad news. According to the policies here, you're not supposed to have guests over - "

The racer's face paled. "What? You mean to tell me that I have to sit in here alone all day until my arm heals?"

"I can get you a TV, video games, and as long as we're not busy with other patients or errands at the time, I'm sure Dr. Mario and I would be willing to give you our company."

The bounty hunter placed a hand - the one not hampered with a cast - to his face with an exasperated sigh.

"Captain, I'm sorry - it's just the policies here; a fighter injured in a match is to remain secluded in the medical ward. I would be more than willing to relay messages between you and your friends, and I'm sure Dr. Mario wouldn't mind helping out too."

_So that's why Samus said she wasn't supposed to be in here._

Joy gently patted his shoulder.

"I'll go see about getting you some broth and gelatin," she said softly.

After the nurse left the room, Samus slid out from underneath the bed.

"You ever notice how uncomfortable breathing is when you're flat on your stomach on the ground?" she asked, smoothing out her green tank top.

"I've noticed my breathing has been a little more uncomfortable by itself," Captain Falcon replied, clutching his water bottle in his left hand and trying to unscrew the cap with the fingertips of his right hand to no avail. "I don't suppose that was also a result of my fight?"

"Right. You bruised a lung, but fortunately it wasn't anything serious," Samus confirmed. She shook her head at the other bounty hunter and took the water bottle from him, unscrewing the cap.

"Thanks," he said. He took a few sips then wiped his mouth. "I'm not really much of a lefty."

He set the bottle down on the tray, brows furrowed in a familiar expression of thought.

"All right, tell me," Samus took a seat on the foot of his bed. "What's on your mind?"

"It's going to be awfully lonely the next few weeks... but I can see why Master and Crazy did it."

"Go on," the huntress said. Now that she knew Master and Crazy weren't to be trusted - especially since Captain Falcon had been the one to prove it - she was willing to listen to his theories. Curious, even.

"Think about it. We're all here to fight, but can't be hurt. I don't quite know what the actual purpose of the fighting is for, but the fact that we can't be hurt allows them to gain our trust," the racer frowned. "And it worked."

"The new fighters thing bothered me too. Why did we keep 'unlocking' them, like characters in a video game? The fact that there was conveniently the exact same number of fighters as rooms suggests that they knew how many of us would be here - like it was planned. Also, why were we sent here to fight first, and other fighters had to be unlocked? It seems like a way to stall for time. But what would Master and Crazy have to stall for time for?"

"It sometimes bothered me, but I never really stopped to think about it like that," Samus pondered. "You have a point."

"Going back to not being hurt, they just wanted us to come to trust them, so they could manipulate us as they pleased. And when someone started feeling doubtful, well... that was why they had their policy on injuries implemented," Captain Falcon explained. "If someone got hurt in a fight, they would be shut off from the other fighters. Regardless of whether they knew about the policy or not, they would have dismissed it - because nobody could be hurt in a fight. That is, unless someone started getting suspicious and sticking their nose where it didn't belong... then Master and Crazy would have to set an example for everyone else... and then keep that fighter locked away so they couldn't start a riot among the others."

Captain Falcon's eyes moved to his cast. He shook his head. "Figures I'd end up as their guinea pig. Hey, at least their policy on keeping other fighters away from me failed."

"They probably didn't take one thing into account," Samus noted with a smile. "A lot of us wound up becoming friends."

"Speaking of which, I wonder why Marth didn't show up."

"What do you mean?" Samus inquired.

"I just thought he might have attempted to sneak in to visit me as well. I mean, he braved a blizzard to save Ness... sneaking into a room across the hall should've been no problem for him. Then again, he might still be asleep. But you said it yourself, Marth has been worried about me, so I thought for sure..." he glanced over at her. "You weren't worried about me, were you?"

"Of course I was. Everyone was," Samus stated, her tone suddenly shifting. She seemed nervous, as though she was defending herself. "Nobody expected you to get attacked."

Captain Falcon sat up, moving the tray aside.

"Samus?"

"Especially not Marth... it really shocked him. I had to end the match for you. Marth panicked and couldn't move. There's no telling what would've happened if he didn't... if I hadn't..." Samus suddenly seemed a lot more withdrawn. "I couldn't... I couldn't let the match end that way."

Her eyes were on her hands now, unable to look at the racer.

"You could've died... I just couldn't let that happen."

Much to her surprise, she found herself drawn into a gentle embrace.

"And you didn't," Captain Falcon assured. His left hand moved up her back, the tips of her ponytail grazing against his fingertips.

The gesture had surprised Samus - had she ever been held like this before? It was comforting. She let her head rest against Falcon's shoulder, closing her eyes.

The tender scene lasted only a few moments; Samus opened her eyes at the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway yet again.

"That's probably your breakfast," she stated, pulling out of the embrace.

"All right. Looks like you better hide again. After that, you might want to sneak out for a while. Maybe see if you can smuggle a few more guests in here for me," Captain Falcon grinned.

"I'll see what I can do," Samus said with a smile, before returning to her hiding place under the bed. Seconds later, Nurse Joy stepped into the room.

"All right, Captain Falcon... I've got a bowl of chicken broth for you, a glass of apple juice, and some strawberry gelatin," she listed, carrying a tray over. She adjusted Falcon's bedside tray to place the food in front of him. "It took a little longer than I expected because the gelatin wasn't pre-made, so I had to prepare some for you."

"All right," the racer replied nonchalantly, taking a sip of juice.

Joy tilted her head; the bounty hunter in bed suddenly seemed calmer - happier, even.

"Can you handle your spoon with your left hand?" she asked. "I wouldn't want you to pour hot soup on yourself, or make a mess with the gelatin."

Captain Falcon tested his grasp on the spoon that came with his food. Granted, it felt awkward to hold it with his non-dominant hand, but he was still able to lift a spoonful of broth to his mouth.

"It feels a little weird, but I should be fine. Say, will Dr. Mario coming by later?" Captain Falcon asked.

Glancing up at a clock on the wall, Joy answered, "Yes, I believe he'll be coming in at eight, then at twelve... pretty much, every four hours."

"Every four hours, starting at eight," Captain Falcon repeated, in a voice that was exaggeratedly loud.

"That's right. You probably want to eat your breakfast now, so I'll let you be for now."

"More like _drink_ my breakfast," the racer joked. Joy couldn't help but smile as she left.

He lifted another spoonful of broth to his mouth as Samus reemerged.

"I still need to get some breakfast too," she remarked, stepping towards the door. "How about I come back with a friend or two after lunch?"

"That sounds great. Oh, and Samus?"

She turned around, glancing back at him. Captain Falcon smiled.

"Thank you."

She smiled back, before sneaking out of the medical ward.

After she left, he resumed eating - albeit awkwardly - but feeling much more positive than he had several minutes ago.

Maybe the next few weeks wouldn't be so lonely after all.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

**bijoukaiba: Awww, I loved how this chapter ended on a sweeter note, considering all the drama we've had in the past few chapters.**

**I want to apologize to you guys for taking so long to update this. The story was actually coming along pretty smoothly through February.**

**If you didn't hear about it on my deviantART page, ****I had a seizure**** near the end of February, and wound up in the hospital for a few days. It also seemed to have an effect on my memory, because my grades also dropped, and I've even had some problems remembering elements I wanted to incorporate in "Swordplay". So I spent a lot of March and April worrying about studying and trying to save my grades. Good news was, I passed all my classes - they weren't spectacular grades, but passing ones nonetheless.**

**Now that I'm on summer break, I could spend May fixing up Chapter 25 (and starting 26) for you guys. It's taken 3 weeks, but I hope you liked it.**


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